In Space, Nobody Can Hear You Belch - RangarlAmamicado (2024)

Chapter 1: Foreigner

Chapter Text

Another day, another supply run. Around Mercury's Bend, there were a fair share of low-class urbworld farming settlements that more or less took advantage of the permanent summer and short calendar year pretty well. Plenty of rotating crops, beautiful farm towns growing specialty crops that were basically all that kept their economies relevant... In other words, ripe opportunities for students of the Intergalactic Logistics industry to apply for and earn their commercial pilot's license.

Problem is, Intergalactic Standard Time is a pain to account for when running between ring-based timezones. Even the best of pilots dedicate most of their lives to running uncertain or unproven routes, and only the most dedicated could hope to break out of it and run the whole thing. Throwing whole years of their life away behind the wheel, losing sleep and years of their life from stress.

For Maggie, though, it meant that she had to rely on circadian sleep pods and autopilot to adjust... and more than she was comfortable to admit.

Even now she found herself under the heat of it. Only, not her boss, but rather actual heat. Hottest part of the galaxy, in fact, she was just grateful she knew her way around because it was her and Felix's homeworld. Not the most uptown place she could've known well before moving out, but it was a familiar sight. No doubt, this could be a great point on her resume should she apply for a real industry giant like Icarus.

"Hey sleepyhead, don't fall asleep at the wheel here. When you got Eric on board, he's watching the radar like a hawk." The man of the hour, here he was now. Felix, the handsome Hyena of black and gold. Also, Maggie's childhood friend.

"Can it, airhead. It's my turn to drive, so if it's not an emergency, Boss can live it."

"Bold words for a Rookie! If he heard you, you'd be outta here faster than you can say '¡Vamanos!', ya feel?"

"That fart's past his prime anyways. You know we only got the internship because his job was all the MWGB subsidy would let us take on."

Nobody else was willing to pay junior pilots for an internship because of how essential and high-paid they were. Thus, it is a really scary barrier for entry given how by now artificial intelligence should've taken over the need for them. Thankfully, people are more resistant to solar flares.

But the real problem here wasn't just the tech - it was the people themselves. Pilots were like billionaires - either already born into it, or sought out by corporations that would use their talents like a showdog. Only, these people were responsible for the supply chain of the entire galaxy. They were heroes. And Maggie and Felix? They were just dudes, figuratively speaking.

"I beg to differ. There are plenty of options for good piloting internships, you just gotta know your limits, Maggie." Felix got up from leaning against the wall.

He maintained a surprisingly chiseled form through his pilot's outfit, despite it being too big for him. Waltzing up to the goat, he booped her on the nose. She retaliates.

"Easy for you to say, airhead. You already knew what you wanted to do and had family's prissy-mommy connections to do it. I had to decide last minute. I didn't have the gift of time like you did, and now I don't have the gift of choice either."

"Whose fault is that? I'm sorry if it's harsh, I'm just saying you ought to be glad you're here to begin with. Not everyone can say they passed the permit test on their first flight, y'know!"

Maggie crossed her arms and huffed. Her red eyes pierced him, clashing with her cream-colored fur and blue uniform. It was like her forehead was twice the size of her face... or maybe that's just when she got angry.

For Felix, what he just said was NOT the right thing to say to her.

"You're a jerk, you know that? No empathy for others." Maggie's arms remained crossed, and she turns away from him.

Suddenly...!

"Aye, aye aye! Whot're ye kids yappin' aboot? Don't get comfeh becoze yer' on mammeh's doorstep. Ye got eh job teh doo!" The walrus was in. Not to say he was a bad or ugly guy (even if he was), just that he was an actual walrus.

"Eric! Welcome back. How are we on breaktime? Almost time to get back to it?" Felix flashed him a smile, like no argument happened just now. He was always the good boy, never really knew why he and Maggie stuck together if they were polar opposites.

"Dain't ye knoh I told yeh not to teek yer breeks at teh same tame?! Fer 'eaven's sake, keds, 'yer kellin me! Yer gunnae cresh me demn shep 'ere!" Eric pushed his way up to the console to check the logs.

However... things were just as they were. Proper alignment, velocity, landing gear priming, radar checks... the works.

"I was working on my break, sir. I take it easy all the time, I just do this because it's what I love."

"That's a boldfaced lie, Flatty. You know as well as I do that that's a lie when you say it with a straight face like that! If you loved piloting so much, why don't you marry it?" Felix poked Maggie again, who this time violently swatted at him.

"You don't know me! Shut up, airhead. And stop judging me! I'm self-conscious..."

"Breek eht up yeh two! I'll tehk eht from 'ere. Yer not readeh fur landen' yet."

Maggie looked back in shock. Her heart sank, like she was somehow in the wrong with Felix even if that wasn't what this was about. "You too?! What's wrong with you, I did it all correctly! I can land it, I've simulated it a thousand times right before... c'mon, man!"

"I jaest daen't truhst ye, I dun't keer that yeer on yeer lahst week weth meh befoor another sed sep pecks yoo up. Ye guttah werk ahn yeer ahchitude fuhrst, ked." Eric slid the chair Maggie was in down. The whole ship was basically scrap at this point, so the chair's slider was slow and didn't go very far. Nothing was up to date compared to other ships, but these two wouldn't dare say it to his face.

"Fine! Whatever, we'll get ready to offload."

Maggie angrily turns around, Felix lightly reading the room and seeing what he did wrong.

"Maggie, wait! I'm sorr-"

"I said can it. Let's just get this over with. I'll notify ground control, you can disengage the airlock and prepare the cargo hull." Maggie pushed Felix as she got up. She was significantly shorter than him, but only because he was 6'4" and she was a 5'11. Despite the height difference, though, it was the slight that cut her deepest. Maybe she just needed a breather to extinguish the inferno within her.

"Aww! But I hate the airlock! You always do this, seriously!" Felix whines, leaving him following after Maggie. Felix was never one to have the best self control, and it showed in his actions. He was truly spoiled rotten, given a silver spoon in mouth his whole life... God! Why couldn't she just have become a engineer, teacher or politician or something? Why did she have to pick the same path as him?

Eric finishes the landing gear prep, and sighs as the two leave angrily. "Amehteurs... I geass that's whot eh sahgned uhp fewr..."

He flips a few switches and adjusts a dial or two. Nothing Maggie couldn't have done..."...Whot wes oll thet 'geft of luxureh' tolk aboot, annehweys? Beck een mah dey..."

---

Decompression. Deep breath.
The unloading crew arrives as Maggie punches out, and Felix not long after her.

She kept her pace up such that she could ignore him and find the nearest hotel once on the ground. No way in hell she was returning to mom and dad's, that's for sure.

The ramp slopes from a crisp, sanitized cargo hull smelling of dust and mildew to that of an Australian outback. The sounds of cicadas, the rustling of leaves and that permanent breeze... hell, clouds were looking nicer today too.

It was convenient enough that they were in their neighborhood. Or at least... about a quarter mile walk from it.

Maggie finally sighed a deep sigh as she got to feel the hot summer air again.

To be honest? Hard to think this place was inhospitable 1000~ years ago. Terraforming sure is a modern miracle - and Ozone Tech too for that matter. Glad she and her generation has the Asteroid field at the very least, no pun intended.

And then his voice caught up, and the venom filled her once again. Like she could bite any moment, a viper holding back the intent to kill.

"Hey, for real though, you good Mag? You're not lookin too hot, did what Eric said put you down? ...Did what I said put you down?" Felix tilted forward and looked up at Maggie as they walk side by side.

Maggie was looking at the ground with intent. The grayish red soil and yellow grass made her forget of the golden skies and the massive sun in front of them.

"It's nothing. Don't talk to me, just let me go home."

"It's never nothing, Maggie. I'm sorry if I was rude to you back there, I was just trying to be realistic. I even complemented you! I don't ever mean to put you down on purpose. You know that."

"It's not that either. Please don't assume how I feel." Her eyebrows furrowed again. He had about as much self-awareness as a dethawing frozen caveman - too little up top, too late to matter.

"Oh... You're right. I'll stop. Sorry." Felix felt the pang of guilt in him. Was it the autism speaking, or the ADHD? It was always something with him, and it was why he never kept many friends outside of his current clique. Even then, birds of a feather flocked together. He was popular in the Disco scene recently, or so Maggie heard on the grapevine.

Maggie bit her lip. Felix never knew when to put himself in the shoes of others. Memories of resentment filled knowing the whole village went out of their way to fund her education, all because she had ties and was a star athlete. But... when did that change? And why was it her that changed? Where the money go? And the trust, for that matter?

Felix stopped, looking back and forth at Maggie and the rural, dirty city of Aster ahead. "Aster's same as always. The hyperdrive boom did a wonder on this place, y'know? Lots more rural and urban development going on now. Lots of people moving out, too. I'm sure there's something new here all the time, but..."

Maggie braced for impact.

He then turns to Maggie again, putting his paw on her shoulder. "Hey, you don't have to go home if you don't want. Place is still a dump, anyways."

Maggie shoved his hand off. "...And do what instead exactly? The next Galactibus won't be here until tomorrow. You know on-demand rides won't come to the far side, right? No demand for this hot hellhole, clearly. That's why a junker like Eric's out here, and not some big shot at Icarus." Maggie turned, frowning and feeling a fluid, gravy-like anger fill her and gestate in her gut. She felt like throwing up. She had to breathe, or she would blow chunks.

"Maggie, you don't have to feel obligated to stay today because of family. You live for yourself now, and I know you don't like being back in the community that treats you like... like the way they did."

Maggie stops, swatting his arm off her shoulder as he tries to go back in after not learning his lesson. "But what about you?! You're all I have left here, nobody else wants to talk to me! It's like I'm some kind of... foreigner to them, or something! And why am I stuck with you of all people, anyways? Is it because I changed? That I betrayed everyone?"

Maggie felt a stinging in her face that second.

Felix slapped her.

"Stop saying that, Maggie! It's not true! You don't owe them anything, do you? I'm not smart, and I'm not a great guy... but you have Mika, Lotus... Archer and Drake too! You don't know how good you have it, you need to be glad you made it this far - that you're behind this place!" His voice got fierce for a moment, but Maggie was simply lost.

"I..." Maggie was clearly distressed by this. Her eyes trembled and her mouth quivered. "No... you don't get it, Felix... I... I don't have anyone. They don't... want... me."

Maggie stopped, her knees and muscles grew weak, and Mercury's gravity pulled her down to said knees. Her hands covered her eyes and face, because her sobbing made her makeup bleed. Drops of black on her hands like she was experiencing Hemocompression. 'And maybe I should,' she thought, because nobody wants her. Nobody reaches out to her, she was a foreigner to her own home. Her own friends...

Noticing this, Felix's eyes went wide. A pang of guilt again, a cracking voice, and sharp breaths of his own. The gravel road was no place for this, but at least it had its solitude. That didn't mean much, though, when loneliness was the problem here to begin with. And the feeling of nihilism... it was so easy to accept.

Arms wrap around Maggie, and another wave of regret washes over him as he cries, too.

"Maggie...! I... I'm sorry. I don't... don't know what came over me! I just... I-I dunno! I hate it, too. I hate it when I make you sad like this... I'm sorry."

Maggie experienced 'freeze' where she could've had 'fight' or 'flight.' Her breathing quickened, then slowed. She was unstable. She could work out all she wanted, but even physical therapy, antidepressants and psychiatry can't answer all her problems.

And she calls herself a boxer, a self-defense expert... she couldn't even deflect him. He let himself in, she didn't ask for any of it. But...

"It's... it's so stressful. I have so many bad memories of this place-! That's why I... I've been so grumpy, I didn't look forward to coming back here for the gig, and I... I-"

Maggie coughed, spitting and snotting. She gasped for breath. "It's like I don't even know you! I feel so guilty, I'm in no place to talk. And... you still hate me for that, don't you?"

Felix held her tighter. "Maggie, we've known eachother forever... I don't care what you're like inside or what you did, you are who you are. We forgive and we forget!"

Maggie finally hugs back, light and weak. "But I'm a freak, Felix. Nobody could love someone like me, not even you! I was violent, I was an outcast. And I still am! Look at me... I'm so alone, but I'm so afraid of meeting someone and ruining their trust."

He speaks into her ear, quiet, as if trying to calm her. "I know, the people here don't understand. You weren't weak for doing what you did though, no matter what they thought. You didnt betray them by acting the way you did. You knew it wasn't for you, so you rightfully prioritized becoming yourself first to move away from it, and now your secrets are always safe with me. Always. Always as someone to talk to. Okay?"

"*sniffle*... Okay..."

Felix comes back around to the front after letting go, holding her shoulders for the third time and looking her in the eyes. His golden yellow eyes and face were warm and loving, looking into the windows of her soul in rosen crimson. "Maggie, you're one of my best friends. I'll be there for you when you need it, okay? I'll call you Maggie always, that person inside you isn't you anymore. You're stronger now."

A familiar feeling and memory hits her, reminding her of good times. And... other times. But... she did feel better.

"Felix... I..." Maggie let go of him and stepped back, looking away from him. "I wanna go back to my place... But where would I even go? I can't show my face around here anymore, all my friends that made it worth it are gone anyways."

Felix smiled and laughed dryly, like he needed a glass of water, "Don't deny yourself your happiness because it's getting late, Magpie. You don't gotta take that Galactibus, girl! I'll just ask my mom to lend me her Shuttle NX. I'll fly you home."

"What?!" Maggie jumped back in shock from the sheer gall of it. "But... that's too expensive! Would she really let you fly it for such a busily-routed trip?" Maggie blushed, one paw on her other shoulder. "A-and you don't have to call me Magpie. Cute pet name still, but I've outgrown it."

Felix laughs, poking her to try and cheer her up. He truly was a dudebro, through and through. "Sure thing, Magpie!"

"Man..." Maggie sighs. Why did she bother holding her breath?

"...But really, though. It's not a hard trip if it's with you. And my mom's chill! She'd lend it to me even if I had to grab groceries. Plus I can afford the flux, we're on a economic fuel expansion these days I hear!"

Maggie turns to him. He sure did love running his yap!

"Shut up, nerd!" Maggie elbows him, she had almost forgotten all about him slapping her a minute ago. He started laughing, in fact, so she continued. "You're not slick, bub. You think just because we kissed a couple times that I can ride with you alone!"

Felix backed off, putting his hands up like he was about to say 'back off!' "Woah, no! That was yeeeeeaaaarrrss ago, I'm a bit more partial to dick these days if you ask me!"

"So what? You're telling me you suck dick with those lips too, now? Big man, I see!" Maggie elbowed him harder this time, smile on her face all the same.

"Fine, fine..."

So they turned to the left. Maybe a walk through the Savanah Parkway would lighten their mood? It was on the way to their destination, anyways, so they might as well.

---

Felix's mother's place is a modern mountainside beachhouse on the far side of Aster, which was already far out anyways. You truly can't get more remote than this.

The roads were more sparse and the trees deader, but the view was to die for. It stood right on the path to the peak of Crater Hill, though it was more of a peak than a bump. The crimson-gold gradient sky and clouds showed a shockingly clear view of the stars around them, even during the late afternoon. Perhaps the UV barrier was to thank for not baking them alive this close to the sun?

Felix's parents must've either been really wealthy to decide to live on the far, far side of Mercury... or just plain stupid. Or both! Actually, probably both, given his disposition.

So imagine Maggie's anxiety when she remembered... she hadn't spoken to his mother much at all since her transition.

"Mom! I'm taking Maggie home! You mind if I use the Shuttle?" Felix shouts to his mom, who was on the top deck smoking and drinking with a woman her age, likely a friend of his father's he didn't know. As a businessman, his father had lots of connections he didn't want part in. Many a playdate crashed in youth by an appointment at home, or paid babysitter during business trips with his wife.

At least... before he passed away, and his mother took on the family fortune. That filthy gold digger...

"Jack's here? Hi, Jackie-boy! Been a while, come on up sometime, we miss you~! We still have your ATV in the garage, never left! Ride with us and Felix again sometime, okay?"

Maggie tensed up, feeling sheer psychological pressure on her for being called her deadname in front of a stranger. Albeit, a stranger she may never see again. Unless, of course, she was Felix's mother's latest mistress. Then she would never forget it.

"Told ya, mom! It's Maggie! If you mess it up again, I'm not asking for permission or telling you next time." Felix, thankfully, was Maggie's bro. He had her back at all times, even if he screwed up a lot.

"Sure, whatever honey... but be back before dinner. And don't go too fast, watch your surroundings out there! I hear solar flares are worse these days, so don't go wrecking my baby! Ohohoho~" His mother croons, her dinner friend laughing with her. She sounded like the mermaid witch from that one children's movie, looked it too - if she were a Hyena.

"Drunkasses..." Maggie mutters under her breath.

"But *I'm* your baby, dammit mom! I'm worth more than some shuttle. But... You're right. I'll be careful!" Felix presses the button to open the co*ckpit, putting his hands to the door to let Maggie in. "Shall we?"

"Grow up." Maggie snickers, doing her best to ignore the slight just a moment ago. Still, that would sit with her the rest of the day.

---

Maggie sits in the comfortable passenger seat, and breathes a heavy sigh again. Lots of sighing with her! "Ffuuuuccck..." She sprawls out, not caring for modesty. Not like her work outfit did her any favors, though, as it was too big for her pencil figure anyways.

Felix pops in and buckles up. "Righteo! Sector 5, yea? Can't miss Jupiter, I suppose."

"It's not in Jupiter, dumbass, it's in front of it."

"Okay, smartass."

"Okay, airhead."

"I'm not an airhead! You keep calling me that, what gives?"

Maggie laughs, putting her hand on her mouth as she giggles. "Oh, you know. You call me Flatty, it's only fair."

Maggie pulls out the starmap, pointing in the direction of Sector 5 during this solar cycle. "Really, though. Big dome, massive continent of a city. Can't miss it."

"All sectors are domes, dummy. I've been to my share of house parties."

"Yea, I bet in Sector 1. You know they found out recently that The MWGB organize our housing options by class and criminal behavior, yea? You were getting laid with ex-convicts I bet."

"Sounds ludicrous. Still can't believe nobody knew till recently. The MWGB sucks..."

"You're avoiding the question."

"I know my rights, officer. But you do have a point, sh*t's f*cked out there."

"Well, the thing is that nobody thinks injustice exists these days because of advanced law enforcement integration. They also don't know Aster exists."

"Nobody thinks Mercury exists at all. It's all about that Venus crowd, or maybe even Neptunians."

"f*ck Neptunians. They get all the praise for living in a permanent tundra hellscape and making TV shows about series' over 1000 years past their prime. sh*t's not Neo-Hollywood, either."

Maggie hits a vape, kicking back and disassociating.

"But see, Felix, they don't care that people built a wholeass inverted world inside Jupiter's cloud! Its a feat of science, man, it's not hard to understand apples from oranges. Talented people to loudmouths."

Maggie sits back from her rant as the Space Shuttle finally finishes warming up. A lot smaller than a commercial masterliner, but still always a scary flight. Good things Felix's mom loves the latest models, Maggie's fading car-tism phase was simply singing right now (since it carried to shuttles as well).

"That's the Milky Way these days, Mag. Considered moving far out, but that's expensive. And really risky. No satellites or stations as frequent as in here. Also less law enforcement."

"I take that as a win, though. Some of my friends live far out, and their families are all space pirates and sh*t. It rocks."

"Easy for you to say. Then again, maybe I'm entitled."

"..." Maggie gave Felix a look.

"Sorry! Sorry."

Having exited the atmosphere, the space heaters and gravity-wells kicked in. The pressurization made their ears pop, but the high-end model made the ride seamless and smooth as they enter the vacuum.

Entering hyperdrive, Felix has to stay quiet and focus as his projective satellite radio detects structures or debris, and autonavigates around it. Ironically, for all Maggie loves about flying cars and shuttling, she had never experienced hyperdrive herself before. She held onto her butt, terrified and wide-eyed from the rapid particle acceleration at play.

"Slow down, dude! It's not a far flight, you're gonna get hit one of these days!"

"Maybe you're right, but I'm a pro now, Mag. I know this route like the back of my hand, and we're gonna be in a low-traffic solar phase soon. Lots of ongoing circadian sleep cycles starting at this moment I bet."

"Easy for you to say, airhead. Maybe you belong in the vacuum. You apparently know so much about it, after all."

"I resent that. My grandfather died in a decompression accident, you know."

"Your grandpa was also a rampant space-capitalist. He ruined so many lives to give your family the fortune it has now. You can't say sh*t."

"I'm paying it forward! Plus you're my friend! And I'm not a self-absorbed prick, I practice humbleness and wanna distance myself from this life. You know this! You know this."

"You also suck dick."

"I also suck dick."

"Oh, rich airhead... How am I friends with you?"

"You know you enjoy being around me~"

"f*ck off."

They finally come into view of Sector 5.

Often called The Middle Sector, or Sector of 1000 Sights, Sector 5 is easily the largest commercial sector. Especially for visitors and tourism. It also housed the galaxy's largest casino! Or legal casino, that is. We don't talk about Pluto, that's been a lost cause for a loooonnnnggg time.

People who live here in Sector 5 either got their foot in the door with the Astromeda Dormatory Program as university students and never left... or they work a ruthless 9-5 desk job and are on the verge of suicide.

Guess which one Maggie is?
Actually, don't.

Felix slowly pulls into the port and lightly powers down, decompressing as they enter the dock's master airlock. They finally find a platform at the high southwestern lot and park. The air here was clean, but very sterile. Like most non-organic stations, one would suppose.

"Your Uber has arrived at your destination!"

"No it hasn't. I still gotta catch the train to District G, Block 8. Probably another 40 minutes for me, at least."

"The flight was 30 because I'm a good flier. I can be back home before you in time for a video call with the gang if you want."

"Don't risk your life for that. You know I don't do video calls anymore. Plus? You almost fried your EMP field because you drove right through that energy cloud past Earth's Moon."

"It was a calculated risk."

"I wasn't even in a hurry, dude! Chill. I appreciate it, but you really gotta stop."

Felix stopped and considered her place. He then sighed. "You know what? Okay. I'm sorry. I'll try to be more careful."

"Don't try, just do it."

"Okay. Sorry."

Getting up after unbuckling, Maggie hugs Felix. "You know I still love you, right?"

"As a friend?"

"As a friend."

"Me too, Magpie."

"Good. I'll be safe if you are, too. Tomorrow I'm hitting the gym again."

"Ooh, got a hot date?" Felix sounded way too enthusiastic for this. "Send me some progress pics when you can finally cut cheese on those abs. Or when you go back and give in to that weird desire of yours~"

Still talking about that? What a tease. He's such a dick~

"My abs are gonna cut you first, jerk."

"Hot."

"Shut up! I'm going now, tell Drake I said hi."

"I'll kiss him for you."

"He's your not-boyfriend, dumbass. Kiss him for you, first. Or for him."

"We'll see about that. He's not my boyfriend, after all, just a friend who I kiss. But... can do!"

Maggie steps out, her bags in check.

"See ya later, punk."

"See ya!"

Felix undocked and decompressed one last time, getting in gear and slooooowwwlllyyy leaving the dock. As if he knew Maggie was watching as she walked away.

"Loser..."

He honks at her twice, and she flips him off with a smile.

---

Words wouldn't suffice anymore. Rush hour was in full spring here due to being in sync with Jupiter's own timezone. The nightlife was real both there and here to say the least, and all the androids and barkers came to life to sell you things you didn't want.

Maggie knew better because she knows their tricks from her bad experiences when she first moved in. Thankfully, it meant she could likely catch her train fast, otherwise she wouldn't be home in time for Jerma the 53rd's Stream tonight.

Maggie walks out of the station and into 23rd and Platinum Street. Lots of good Asian restaurants, as well as scrap shops and the occasional slum bar. Lots of homeless people, too, but only on the underplate of the street by the sewageways. Needless to say, she wanted out fast.

She did a light jog, struggling to hold her bag at the same time. She kept to the car-side of the road such that salesmen during the red-light hours didn't try to sell her illegal cybernetic sex augments from the alleyways or establishment entryways.

She finally makes it back to a sense of normalcy when she finds the underpass, where the busy nightlife marketplace was held by Electric Chinatown. She liked stopping her to buy vintage CDs and band memorabilia, but she never liked the caricature artists and book salesmen. They just rubbed her the wrong way, and they had the same problems as the rest of Platinum and 23rd.

Finally, she takes the steps up the underpass to get by the platform. Lots of depressed businessmen as expected, several wasted from late barhops and happy hours demolishing their paychecks. Then there were the young people, usually punks and pirate wanna-be's that probably run the supercomputers by daylight. Chances are they were here because they had too much money and too much free time, like a billionaire trying to pander to an audience that doesn't want them. Jerks...

It was the city of two faces, Sector 5's southwest quarters. The real highlights would be the tech supercenters where appliances and modern tech conventions are held, all on the highest roadways above. Granted, it was a pain finding elevators around here to go up that were in service still. This was due to drunkasses slicing themselves in half by their midsections with the doors. Needless to say, they swept that one category of incidents under the rug, but the fact that it kept happening was only more concerning. It was almost like an artificial security measure, as f*cked up as that was...

Thankfully, Maggie didn't live here. Maggie lived on the northeast side, where beautiful parks and romantic getaways were. There was the artificial resort Pocket Dream, which simulated an island in an offshoot bubble on a level visible far from Maggie's window. Needless to say, it looked fun, but too expensive for her blood, even as a local and pilot in training. She also had the privilege of having a room that connects to the outside walkway where Pocket Dream was visible, meaning she got to recreate that scene in her head from Blade Runner with the giant hologram woman whenever she wanted.

... she wondered why that scene in particular, though. Part of her did at least, but not the part who was willing to admit it.

---

The next bullet train arrives, and it was Maggie's cue to scan her pass and board. It was a better time than ever to get on her phone and make bad decisions.

For once? She felt like messaging her old friends over the Discord GC she muted. They were active all the time, albeit most of them hung out without her. Lots of photos and visits... but no Maggie. She was a lurker, all things considered, which was sad considering she had no other IRL friends in her opinion, only virtual ones.

fa*ggoat (17:29 IST): Anyone alive?

VampireBrat (17:29 IST): MAGGIE!!!!!!!
VampireBrat (17:30 IST): she lives :3

fa*ggoat (17:30 IST): Hi Mika 👋 😊

Deadsh00t (17:31 IST): Been forever Maggie!!! How you been?
Deadsh00t (17:31 IST): Sector 5 treating you well? Haven't lost any fingers I hope?

fa*ggoat (17:31 IST): I told you, I'm not involved with the mob, my friends in The Outer Rings just really like LARPing as Space Pirates
fa*ggoat (17:32 IST): Also stop assuming I'm in with the mob. I swear I'm not active bc I have a life

calculator toaster hybrid (17:32 IST): Were you in Aster just now????? Flix just told me you and him had a chat

fa*ggoat (17:33 IST): f*ck's he texting you for?
fa*ggoat (17:33 IST): Dude's running hyperdrive rn, his mom's gonna put his ass on a pike and display it

DrakenJosh Deluxe (17:34 IST): he WHAT

VampireBrat (17:34 IST): Was everything okay? How did your drive go with the old man???

fa*ggoat (17:35 IST): f*ck Aster. f*ck Felix's mom. I just wanna be by myself, and be who I wanna be. I don't wanna be who I was anymore.

She feared it would come to this. She hated being the center of attention, but knew she couldn't have online friends who knew her without that personal touch. 'Am I afraid of dedication,' she thought?

calculator toaster hybrid (17:35 IST): GIRL YOU ARE VALID YOU CAN DM US ANY TIME
calculator toaster hybrid (17:35 IST): you can crush the haters heads like watermelons with your thighs

Maggie audibly chuckled. Embarrassed, she glanced to see if anyone noticed, then covered her mouth with a hand for a moment. She was curled up on her seat, not even just legs-down, she looked like a shrimp.

fa*ggoat (17:36 IST): Don't talk about my thighs like that please. What I do with them are my business alone. /gen

DeadSh00t (17:36 IST): You're like,,, the one who works out, right? Mika loves you, she thinks highly of you

fa*ggoat (17:37 IST): Thanks Archer. Thanks Mika.

VampireBrat (17:37 IST): I DID NT SAY THAT I JUT SAID THAT IF ANY WPMAN COULD KILL ME I WOULD LETT IT BE HER

Classic Mika. So disconnected from reality that her job revolves around her bringing her delusions to life. Maybe that was the dream right about now, to be honest.

fa*ggoat (17:38 IST): No???????? I'm not killing anyone
fa*ggoat (17:38 IST): I still hit the gym. I get it. Please stop talking about my body like that. /srs

calculator toaster hybrid (17:38 IST): oh f*ck im sorry i was the one who said the watermelon thing
calculator toaster hybrid (17:38 IST): im sorry maggie. you got a gym partner yet? It's been months since we heard about it, no progress pics either

Maggie felt that sinking feeling again. This is what she was afraid of, that being who she was would make her the ugly duckling in a group of nerdy weirdos, like they had to pander to her because they didn't have any other common ground anymore...

Not to say that Maggie wasn't a nerd or weirdo, but her taking initiative with her life meant making some sacrifices. And now that she graduated, she had more time than she was willing to admit, so the internship was all she had going for her financially. All that was left was an empty void where nothing had filled it. It really depressed her, moreso than usual. One could say it made her feel suicidal, even.

And as for hobbies? Aside from that, she would rather not talk about it. Nobody would wanna hear it anyways.

fa*ggoat (17:39 IST): I don't do pics like that. I'm insecure. I just work out bc it's habit and I do it to forget my depression and anxiety.

DrakenJosh Deluxe (17:39 IST): Maggie listen if it's hurting you you don't gotta do it.
DrakenJosh Deluxe (17:39 IST): Being a former athlete doesn't mean you gotta be an athlete the rest of your life
DrakenJosh Deluxe (17:39 IST): I know lots of great groups in Sector 5 that help people form connections based on their identities. Being in HR rocks 🪨

Maggie gulped. She thought about what she told Felix, about... about him being her ex meaning he knows the things she likes. What friends would accept her if they knew she was a degenerate in her passtime? Not frequent enough with IRL friends to put it behind her, but not strong enough with online friends to come to terms with it. And in her mind? She could only have one. Maybe even none!

Perhaps she was afraid, thinking that dropping the grind meant that she'd go the opposite direction, and everyone would think she was some kind of freak for letting herself go willingly. She had a reputation to uphold. Her friends here even just admitted that it was her singular defining personality trait, more or less!

And as for letting go? N-not that she wanted the side effects. Just that... she didn't want people to get the wrong idea, should things get worse. Lean at 124 lbs, she was pretty proud all things considered. Why give it up? It was all she had going for her.

Maggie for once remembered to breathe... though she forced herself to continue as she nears her stop. After all, chances were it'd be months before she talks here again.

If she's not dead by then from exhaustion or self-neglect, that is. Or worse.

VampireBrat (17:39 IST): ^
VampireBrat (17:40 IST): Yea Mag you got plenty of hobbies you can pick back up! What about your garden, or your artworm?
VampireBrat (17:40 IST): artwork*

fa*ggoat (17:40 IST): ran outta money to buy fertilizer and ph tabs. I come first. And landlords closed off the rooftop, so I can't go back there anymore.
fa*ggoat (17:40 IST): also I don't talk about my art. Sorry

Maggie put her hand in her face. Everyone here was a freak, yes, but not like that. Not like that...

Her art was something only she could talk about, and it's a miracle Felix doesn't expose her ass. In more ways than one, she supposed. It was how she made ends meet when the MWGB didn't have her back with her stipend and pilot's subsidy.

DeadSh00t (17:41 IST): You do you girl!!! We don't judge, we really love you here.
DeadSh00t (17:41 IST): We miss you

That stung. She looked at the sentence in front of her, longingly and sadly staring at it

We miss you.

How do you even respond to that?

Maggie typed out what she was going to have be her final message, but hesitated.

"If you guys really want me around, invite me next time you guys go out."

She did have the heart to send it. How could she? Her hand on her mouth and her furrowed eyebrows said it all for her. She trembled, she needed sugar because he blood pressure was low and her head light from the heavy breathing.

She deletes the message, and types a new one.

fa*ggoat (17:43 IST): thx
fa*ggoat (17:43 IST): cya later guys

VampireBrat (17:43 IST): BYEEEE!!! ^W^)7

DrakenJosh Deluxe (17:44 IST): Bye Maggie! Say hi to Felix for me

DeadSh00t (17:45 IST): cya slugger

calculator toaster hybrid (17:45 IST): by!!!!

Maggie puts her phone down and sighs.
Why couldn't she just tell them? What was wrong with her?

"I gotta go to bed... I don't feel like dinner tonight." Maggie sighed, getting off and walking down the block to her building. Self-care was for chumps anyways. At least the food would be going to someone more deserving.

---

This part of town was much calmer at night given the Residential Districts are more legally-reinforced than the Commerical ones. Maggie checks the chat from there, and ultimately things return to how they were. Before long, even Felix joins.

Indeed, he was home before her. That asshole... even now he lied to her about flying safe! Then again, she can't complain, its like an arms race for who's trying to die first. Needless to say, neither wanted the latter to suffer, so it was more like a cold war.

"Man..." The gangly goat puts her phone away as to not stress herself out, for good this time. When Maggie makes it to her level, she happens to be met with two familiar faces also arriving home.

"Hey, gal! Welcome back~" Her sassy brownbear neighbor Sasha, a towering chunk of a woman, seemed to be arriving home. It looked to be from a grocery run with her girlfriend, Gwennifer, a classically-suited orange Fox.

"Oh! Hey ladies, how'd the date go?" Maggie for one was pretty glad she was matched with neighbors that had most everything in common with her when she applied for Sector 5 residency. It was one thing keeping her going, the sense of immediate companionship... what was that about Maggie not having friends IRL again?

"Greetings, Maggie. We had fun I believe. Wouldn't you say?" Gwen was very eloquent, but down to earth. All the qualifications for an aspiring businesswoman like herself... which made the fact her partner being a Good-for-nothing party girl all the more baffling. And entertaining.

"Yeah, yeah. I got to kick Gwen's ass in darts at the club, she can't hold her liquor at all! Hahaha... " Her raspy, smoker voice was like a campfire crackling at a camp in the woods. It's still a shock to see a girl from Earth's beautiful boreal highlands settle for a Sector instead, she probably already had it made out there, too.

That said, Gwen loved her for it. It made living in the cityscape feel less sterile and dead. It showed love and dedication. And most of all, something Maggie didn't have, aspirations.

"All I did was spill my drink, Sasha. I can withstand my liquor just fine, dear."

Maggie wryly smiles and points, her finger lightly trembling behind her facade. "You sound like an old married couple. Mainly though that's Gwen's fault."

"We have our priorities, Maggie. Somethings you simply cannot understand from surface level observation alone."

This cracks Sasha up. "Really? Because I see a lovely, lovely lady right here! And Maggie? You're lovely too, in your own way!"

"Oh you...~"

Maggie felt the sickeningly sweet aura from them in the air. As someone still struggling with the notion of being single, the reminders at all corners made it sting that much worse. And to be fair, Felix suffered from that too, albeit he had the luxury of a f*ck-buddy.

"So... after getting wasted clubbing it up... you bought groceries? At this time of day?" Maggie couldn't help but notice the Segar's bags, an odd choice of grocerystore for a couple trying to not blow their life's savings away with needless spending.

"Sasha's just nostalgic about Earth and Earth's goods, expensive though they may be. I don't blame her either, we're technically all from Earth one way or another, in a pathological sense." She had a point, but still. Just because Earth was their species' planet of genesis doesn't mean the plants there are nearly as good as from Mars, or Mercury for that matter.

"Well hey, you know how to manage your life better than me I guess. Bye, then."

Maggie opened her door to enter, when she noticed she was held back by the massive ursine.

"Hey! What gives?!"

"I ain't letting you go on those terms, twerp. You need to love yourself before you can love others, otherwise you won't have room in your heart to let others in."

"What?"

Maggie was tired of being lectured about the nature of love, frankly. What gave? Why couldn't she figure it out on her own?

"I'm afraid Sasha has a point, Maggie. You've been fasting, haven't you? You're a growing girl like we are, but you don't have to starve yourself. Your body needs to eat to fight on and become the strongest! At least, that's what I believe you desire. Correct me if I'm wrong!"

"Uh, *yeah* it's wrong? I just don't care. I need to destress and watch a streamer or something. I'll hit my vape and I'll be fine, nothing more and nothing less."

Maggie squirmed and eventually fell from Sasha's pinched claw grasp. "Suit yourself, Mag. But if you need us, you're always welcome with us on the town. We'll give you some nights you'll never forget!"

"And with your drinking habits, maybe nights I'll never remember, either."

"Hell yeah, Mag gets it!"

"You two are hopeless..."

"I was kidding! I was kidding, Gwen."

"Well, if you need us, you know where we live. I didn't mean to indict you, there, Maggie. Sorry."

"It's okay... I know you two care. Sorry for being a bad neighbor. Good night you two. I'll try to take better care of myself tonight."

"You best, girl! I got my eyes on you..."

"Good night, Maggie!"

So, for the final time, Maggie stepped away from interruptions this night.

The quiet hums of halogen lamps and a humidifer... she certainly had a pension for the Disco revival it looked. The tacky brown accents of the room with gold sought to make the metal-walled room look like an office break-room more than an apartment.

Maggie tosses off her coat, putting her purse down and taking a strong drag. Her legs were splayed out, and she now wore nothing but a sports-bra and leggings, her sub-uniform emergency-workout attire. Gets very hot, though, hence her current behavior.

Maggie gets up and picks up her clothes grogily, taking them to the laundry chute and entering her room. She found a water-cooler from her mini-fridge and downed one to at least put something in her stomach.

"Tomorrow's my day off... damn." She felt hollow saying it, no silver lining.

Plopping on her bed, she didn't even have the energy to toss her drink. She simply lied down before realizing it. "f*ck it, the stream can wait. I'll find something to do my commissions to tomorrow, maybe the Vod."

She grabs her medicine on the bedside table's compartment. Taking her dose of HRT and her antidepressants (as well as some melatonin), she turns the light off and tucks herself in.

She puts her phone to the bedside to charge, and turns over. Through force of habit, she tries to masturbat* to make herself feel better, even if briefly. However... not even enough sweat and imagery can stimulate her or what's left of her that can derive pleasure in her biological way. She sighs, feeling sweaty and sad, but at least she didn't have to deal with post-nut clarity making it worse. She decides to go cold turkey in a blue-balled sense, hitting her vape one last time.

This was every day for Maggie for the last 3 months. The internship drew to a close as it was soon going to be her responsibility to sign on with every professional she could find, but the stress wasn't unusual to her by now. It was 'normal.' And if that meant yet another internship? So be it.

... but what really *was* normal?
She could have many answers for that, but none would be good. So she felt it, whatever 'normal' was.

But little did she know, this would be the last 'normal' night of her life for a long, long time.

Chapter 2: Encounter

Chapter Text

Maggie wakes up in a cold sweat. Her alarm is going off, 5:30 IST. She had gone to bed early - around 7 last night. Perhaps it made sense that she felt more lethargic than rested, to be honest.

Getting out, Maggie rubs her face once with her hand, and then lightly pats her cheek. Looking around, her room was same as she left it, obviously. She gets up and takes her morning dosages, gets dressed, brushes her teeth, and makes what may be her only meal for the day, assuming she doesn't get lucky.

It was a smoothie with bananas, strawberries, mango, and green grapes. Maggie used to have something like it on Aster growing up called 'The Heatwave,' which essentially included those fruits along with a rainbow of other complex, interplanetary fruits that made it a simply divine summer treat. Or in Mercury's case? An all-the-time treat.

Sadly, the stall that sold Heatwaves went out of business when the great solar scare happened and the whole supply network went offline for a month. No way to buy the fruit meant no source of revenue, and no more money to buy fruit. That, and they were barely making ends meet as it was... But damn, they really did have 'the best treat this side of the Milky Way,' as that guy said all the time. Where was he now, Maggie wondered?

Regardless though, that's besides the point.

What Maggie concocted was much better than coffee, and pretty good for her diet by being low carb and low fat. But again, she may need to savor it.

Maggie decides she'll jog to the gym, since it's just at the start of the next District over and foot traffic should be low.

Maggie slips on her jacket and begins her jog, listening to her breakcore/jungle playlist. Maggie had been doing these daily missionaries ever since she graduated and lost access to the High-School gym. When she moved into Sector 5 for college (and subsequently kicked out from Mom & Dad's anyways), the Aeronomics department really only required her and her classmates to pass a physical exam once for their entire degree, weirdly enough. Long story short, that meant no gym for the College of Aeronomics, sadly.

Maggie instead settled on a local gym - Forge Fitness. It wasn't a cheap membership, but they bundled a package including free spa and massage use, as well as a door-to-door dry cleaning service powered by an android workforce. Said drycleaning was very useful for getting seemingly impossible-to-remove oil stains out of her work uniforms... though it's a pain every time for Maggie to have to remind the androids of her specifications. How many people do they even service daily, exactly?

Well, not her problem as long as her clothes get taken care of. Maggie's IRL friends didn't really know much about her gym life, but was supportive ever since the incident and up until graduation. Regardless, though, Maggie arrives at the gym. This was easily the most consistent place in this phase of her life, meaning she actually got to know a few regulars quite well.

There was Gus, a boar and divorced father of 4 who loves his motorcycle - though he has a heart of gold. He loves to talk about football and bond with Maggie over their shared love for awful stand-up comedians. Gus once helped Maggie pursue this passion further with one big act of kindness, which is pretty incredible since this began with Maggie pretending she cared about comedy, faking it until she made it.

Indeed, Gus actually went out of his way to use his connections in newscasting and entertainment to help buy Maggie backstage tickets for two to see Biff Dunham live at Saturn's outer ring. Naturally, Maggie brought Felix along, and they hated the act but all around made good memories thanks to Gus. Sadly, he had to move due to work reasons, but is still friends with Maggie on Spacebook.

Then there was Ursula, a tall and jacked python woman from Earth. She once served in the MWGB Space Corps. Ursula frequently like to show Maggie pictures of her honors and awards for achievements in service and narrate the associated stories, as well as speaking about some of the buddies she made. Maggie didn't quite care, but found friendship in her over their shared interest in gardening and composting.

Ursula would frequently visit Maggie on the rooftop of her residential building to cultivate and tend crops in the planter boxes, chatting about their lives and friendships while shooting the sh*t. Ursula still goes to Forge, but hasn't spoken with Maggie since she her landlords closed the rooftop, suspecting delinquents. Thus, they effectively killed the plants, bringing great sadness and disconnect to both of them. It wasn't Maggie herself who Ursula saw her for that drove her away, but rather the emotions and associations with that hard time. Maggie secretly wishes to talk to Ursula again, but can't find a reason to.

There were others Maggie didn't quite know as well that she would like to meet, but some people come and some people go. Some people show up for one day, and never come back. Some people harass Maggie, and some people defend Maggie - maybe even to harass Maggie themselves.

There was a maned wolf with a body full of tattoos she wanted to talk to, but were it not for the fact she'd seen her doing drugs around the alleyway, it would be otherwise. There's also the eagle, who's a bro with a heart of steel. He likely has no intention to steal Maggie's heart, but Maggie get freaked out by him when he blasts his own music and challenges random people to 'lift-offs'. There was also a few times a week a snail boy who looked like he would snap like a twig would show up. He tried really hard, and Maggie did indeed speak to him to try and meet him, but he got major anxiety and ran off to not return. She really blames herself for that one, but figures there must've been some deeper reason in his life for his behavior she couldn't account for.

So many faces, so many experiences... it was like the workout itself was a supplement to the people-watching, to be honest. It was 7 by the time she arrived, and the doors open. Maggie is the first in for the day, and all the equipment is as clean as can be.

"Morning Maggie."

"Morning, Spot. I didn't know you worked early shifts like this."

The young-ish chameleon boy looked up from his phone from behind the counter. He wore a whistle and a light shirt, likely for one of the classes he holds here as a trainer. Spot was the textbook definition of a twunk, sporting rectangular glasses and the toned body of a young sapling, like he could be bent in half by a wrong gust of wind. But don't be mistaken, he's a force to be reckoned with. Judging by his performance in front if his classes when he's not lazing about, he secretly holds back lots of potential Maggie doesn't always see.

And to be honest? She didn't want to have anything to do with him or his classes. No reason in particular. He's just not her sort.

"They changed my hours on me, didn't even bother telling me until a few days beforehand. Not like I was doing anything else, though. Except sleep."

"Amen, brother."

"You're here awful early, too. You always here first thing? You were an afternoon-to-evening kinda girl last I knew. What gives?"

"Too much free time after graduation."

"Oh sh*t, that sucks. You find anything you wanna do yet?"

"That's the idea. This internship isn't landing me any connections I'd like, and none of my interviews led to any second visits or calls." Maggie co*cked her hip, then looked at Spot through the windows of his soul. "...And I am NOT picking up a gig here."

"Really? Why not? You already got the work in, you'd basically be paid for what you already do instead of paying for it. It's a win-win."

"I don't like that you have a point. I'm going to tell you I'm considering it, and never get back to you."

"Beggars can't be choosers."

"Yea, and I'm begging you to stop. I'll take the keys to weights room 1, now."

"Suit yourself. Leave them in the lock and I'll pick up them up."

"Gotcha."

Maggie and Spot get along fine, but she can't help but feel Spot was being slow in trying to get on her good graces. He's the only clerk who bothers talking to her, but is pretty chill. She just can't help but feel like there's something more to him she doesn't understand, and that scares her.

...anyways, where were we?

Maggie gets in and smells the clean room, knowing it will be a mess in 3 hours time. The whole room was rustic, with mood lighting and motivational posters, as well as a floor made entirely out of wrestling mat. It was here that Maggie's regiment began. She liked to start with an aerobic workout on an electric bike, followed by some light yoga to loosen up. This takes about 30 minutes for each, after which Maggie takes a water break.

She then liked to begin her real workout by doing the lat machine to work on her shoulders and pecs. She then likes to lift the bench press to work on arm and grip strength. This takes about 30 minutes each as well, given she doesn't get into it and go extra, skipping phase 3.

The final phase is what she considers her victory lap, where she rehydrates once more and decides to do an incremental series of sit-ups and push-ups depending on her streak. The highest she had ever gone was 120 for each, where she added 5 a day for two months straight. She ended her streak by collapsing from overexhaustion - Maggie had to have Spot medically assist her, which may partly be what's feeding into his odd behavior towards her. There's no real good time limit on this to be honest, it varies hard.

So Maggie started. She wore a nice sports bra and leggings, taking her jacket off sweetly and hanging it up. She wasn't afraid to show off her abs here, but she was usually nervous about tucking. She wore a special pair of underwear that helped, but it was slightly tight and also a pain to ride on the bike with.

The first hour goes by as she withstands the bike and stretches. Plenty of new faces that likely would never stay, and one or two guys oggling her when she did her stretches. She almost liked the attention to be completely honest, it made her feel beautiful. She just didn't like when they acted out on it with malice, only genuine curiousity and innocence. Naturally, anyone with a sweet heart going to a gym wouldn't be young. They would be someone like Gus, or fragile like the snail boy. Maggie never got her hopes up, and merely liked to exhume her thoughts in exchange for adrenaline and power.

Before long, a familiar face showed up. He was a sea lion who had several tattoos and handlebars. He spoke with Gus a lot when he was here, but wasn't as frequent. He also smokes and drinks way too much. So because of this, the first of the smells for the day enters, and most of the newbie crowd gives up and leaves. Maggie doesn't mind because she's used to it due to her parents' influence when they smoked before she made them quit... But still, she was aware that this guy just straight-up needed to shower, regardless of these tolerances.

Finally, hour one ends and in comes hour two, the real workout. The gym gets much busier around 8 to 9, and many many new faces show up. A membership promotion started recently to attract new customers, and it was clearly working. Unfortunately, this meant a bunch of people began hogging the equipment, and many of them didn't even know how to use it.

Most of these people were young, lots of them looked like the kind who would say to themselves 'today's the day I change my life' and proceed to drop it. Some of them seemed particularly hopeless, as many of them didn't quite set the equipment back to a lighter starting weight, meaning they had to keep getting on and off to change it slowly. If it weren't for some systems already in place with the advanced machinery here, many people would be getting hurt today. It was infuriating, like a mobile game ad with purposefully unsolvable aggravating imagery.

This reaches a head when Maggie can't help but sit up to look at a new face that quite shocked her as they enter the gym. She didn't recognize them in the slightest, but the person easily weighed six or seven hundred pounds!!! He wore a tanktop that rode up so high it looked like a bra, and shorts that made him look like a walking muffin.

The monument of a shark looks around, glancing briefly at Maggie, then breaking stare and going for the bench press bars just across the room from her own. Impressively, this person manages to get on easy enough for their weight, shuffling to wiggle under the bar. All the wiggling and shuffling making his body jiggle, and it gave Maggie a disturbed internal feeling. The auto-spotting system for the bench presses here normally helped take into account a particular size and area of an average individual for the seat space, but this person with their massive tail bled far over it like a tablecloth over a table.

Before long, the buzzers go off due to the sensors being falsely triggered. His body mass got confused by the system visually and spatially for the bars, and an emergency shutoff occurs of the systems to prevent damage due to the error. All of that, sheerly from the shark's size alone. Spot walks in to see what was going on, not emoting in the slightest. And everyone was staring.

"Hold on."

Spot sticks the key Maggie left in the door into a part on the machinery while the shark lay on it, looking at Spot nervously

"Okay, manual spotting activated. Hahhh..." He didn't like the natural pun, so he quickly slammed the compartment shut to take his key and leave.

On his way out, Spot walks up to Maggie, who was clearly also staring by now.

"Hey, they need a buddy to spot them. Can you spare a few?"

"What? Why me? You work here dude."

"Teaching a class, had to leave them without instruction because of the emergency buzzer. Thanks for the help, bye!"

Spot ran off. dickhe*d...

Maggie painstakingly cuts her workout prematurely to walk up to the floundering feaster, waiting as if having heard the whole thing.

"Hey there, you just need me to spot you, yea?"

"Yep." A light and chipper voice responds. How quaint.

"Okay." Maggie awkwardly sat on a bench next to him, seeing as he painstakingly reaches for the bar, finally grabbing it.

Somehow his form was perfect, albeit slow by nature. The lifts were efficient, and his heavy breathing controlled. Did they know how to lift already?

"Wow, look at you! Already got it down, huh." Maggie suddenly realized saying this came off as assumptive of negative past behavior on their part, but was quickly corrected.

"Used to do this... nnggghhfff... all the time. hhhnnnggghhfff...!"

Really now? Upon further inspection, it can be seen where pecs and biceps would be, but they were encased in layers of fat. Hell, they couldn't even lie straight because the tail slot was too small for them.

"...hey, you wanna try a different machine?" Maggie passively tried suggesting moving him to something different after 10 or 15 minutes of glancing to and from her phone.

"Nope." Wow, okay.

Maggie rolled her eyes, but saw soon how sweaty this shark got. The way the slapping of sharkskin softly bounced and flapped against itself, it sounded like something else Maggie couldn't describe. His upper arms were so big that they hit the sides of his torso like... like *something,* alright.

"Hey, I want a turn in too, dude."

Maggie decides to put her foot down. 25 minutes and little to no progress, desperate breaths and frequent small breaks. Clearly she didn't quite understand how this even worked for him. What was she all worked up over this one guy for?

He looks over, putting his bar up with her help. He then rolls over, literally falling onto the floor with a meaty plap. It honestly made Maggie jump a little, and she was on edge. They slowly get up, wiping off their legs in doing so.

The cookie-cutter shark had on circular glasses with a short and curly-combed look. The nose ring really gave away that this was no normal person, if that wasn't obvious. He catches his breath, looking at Maggie with light desperation.

"Hooh... Yeah... Sorry! I... hhaah..." His voice didn't sound all masculine, and his look indicated something soon made clear by a nearly un-noticable clue.

The slight underside of the tank-top that rode up showed what may be top surgery scars. Was this person trans-masc?

"Hey, what's your name?" Rarely Maggie made the move, but in this instance she couldn't help but be cordial.

"Hhaff... Name's Cera... Houugh... You are?" He looks up from leaning, albeit hands still on their legs and panting. His glasses steamed up and hung from his ears barely.

"Umm... Maggie. Hey, Cera? You... uhh..." Maggie couldn't bring herself to ask right away. It was too brash, too embarrassing, and clearly it would blindside Cera during his exhaustive period. Maggie instead tried to take it someplace else.

"You... a regular here? I come here all the time, and... I've never seen you before." Maggie looked him up and down. Somehow she severely doubted he had been here before, but it didn't hurt asking.

"What's that supposed to mean...? Hahh..." Cera stands back up, towering very tall over Maggie at 6'8". This was unprecedented! How short could Maggie really be? "I already said was that I used to do this all the time, yea? What's so hard about that to get?"

Maggie knew she was digging herself into a pit. Dammit! How can she turn this around? The others in the gym were staring still, and it was getting awkward for those who heard and saw them. Thankfully it wasn't everyone, but the main red flags came from a group of 3 or 4 in the distance.

"Right, right! Sorry. I'm Maggie. I-I mean... I already said that... u-uhm...!" sh*t, recover it! Recover it! "I, uh... I'm here most every day! You live here in Sector 5?"

"Well, I wouldn't fly here just to go to the gym, would I? I walked." Yeah, right. I mean... wait, no! Not 'yeah right'!

"No, okay! Wait...! What I mean is... I've just never seen you, again. You, uh... plan on staying?"

"Why wouldn't I? I gotta make the trip worth my while, yeah?" So he DID fly in, did he? Yet... when he had focus, he tried to pitch down his voice! Oh, this person DEFINITELY was trans-masc.

"Well... I changed my mind! I can spot you for the other equipment. I, uh... finished my workout anyways." Maggie, what were you doing?!? Are you insane? All the people you could've spoken to, and it was the least optimal gym partner? Did you have a death wish or something?

"You sure? I mean... I'm not very good at lots of the arm machines, I love the bike though."

"You went out of your comfort zone, huh? Good on you!" What does that even mean?! C'mon, Maggie!

"Please don't compliment me..." Abort! Abort!!!

"Oh, sorry." Again, the people were staring. Hurry up, Maggie!!!!!

Maggie walks up to the bikes and waves the stranger over. Cera co*cks their head at Maggie confused. "I thought you said you were done, though?"

"Cardio never hurts, plus I'm trying to slim down."

"You? Slim down? Sure, Maggie." The tone was slightly passive aggressive, but Maggie thought she saw a joking smile for just a moment. Was her lie really that obvious? Well... Of course it was.

Maggie and Cera begin riding the bikes together, and Cera's pedaling sounded far more strained than Maggie's - for both Cera and the machine.

What compelled Maggie to keep doing this? Was it her desire to making her trips feel more meaningful? Or to feel less lonely? Was it even about working out at this point? Or... was it what she thought it was?

Before Maggie can continue, the bike automatically slows back down as her ride finishes. Maggie finishes her ride about 5 minutes before Cera, but Cera kept up surprisingly good pace. She genuinely felt happy for him, despite her initial qualms.

"Nice job, Cera!" Maggie goes to hi-five Cera, but Cera just looks away detachedly. All he can muster is a light hand tap, and he catches his breath more. Clearly Maggie was trying too hard, Cera didn't seem into the forced enthusiasm. And to be fair? Neither did she.

"Yeah... yeah..." Cera gets up, and after getting off with a thwump of their feet on the mat flooring, Cera finds the nearest bench and sits to catch his breath.

Maggie follows him to the bench and sits next to him. He really *was* huge...

...

"Why are you helping me?" Cera asked, struggling to keep back the lighter voice.

Maggie turns to him, shocked to hear him sound so sad. "What?"

"You know it as well as I do, I don't have a chance at fixing this. I can't even go a day without getting looks, it's like they don't want me to improve."

Maggie realized what it was about very suddenly. The onlookers began smiling as the two sat next to each other, the juxtaposition was strong between the two of them sitting as they were next to one another. Maggie inhales, then turns to Cera and thinks more closely about better words and reasoning to use.

"Cera, what are your goals?"

"What?"

"I don't mean gym goals, necessarily. I just want to hear what you want to do with yourself. You seem lost."

"I... I can't say I really know. I don't know you, though. Why would I tell you even if I knew?"

Cera had a good point, but Maggie payed close attention to his wording. "So you *do* have a goal? You don't have to tell me, I'm just checking because I want to know you a little better. T-to help you. That's all..." Did she really just say that out loud?

"Wh-what? No, I mean... um... is this some roundabout way to answer my first question?" Cera got a little bashful at the talk of it, Cera lightly balling up and taking up less space. The ogglers were tuned in, going by looks alone to see what would happen. Maggie learned forward, not towards Cera though, trying to pay the others no mind.

"I already answered it. You, uh... you don't have to come to the gym and feel ostracized. For... any reason."

No, you idiot! Why did you include that last part? Learn better self control!

"So what? You're asking me about what's on the inside so I don't feel bad about what's on the outside?" Cera gets up, turned towards the changing room and seemingly intent to leave. "Thanks but no thanks, Maggie. I don't want any more attention than I've already drawn. I'm just... I wanna go home now."

Maggie felt a sudden flash in her mind. This reminded her eerily of what happened yesterday with Felix! Except she now found herself in his shoes.

"Wait, where are you going Cera?" Maggie got up, and quickly caught the shark who slowly and sadly marched away. She grabs him by the wrist, and he recoils nervously.

"What? What do you want? Can't you see I don't belong here? Dont make it more painful than it already is."

Maggie took a deep breath in, then spoke her mind. "Cera, did you come here today because you really wanted to? Because it sounds to me like you knew this would happen."

"Th-thats..." Cera froze, their mind unsure of what to do.

What the hell were you doing, Maggie? Why were you so caught up on this stranger? Is this encounter really more worthy than the others?

"Cera... I was there yesterday, too. I went some place I wasn't welcome either. But... I struggled to find the right answer of what to do, locked up by my own feelings. Don't let your feelings cloud your judgement, just at least let me be that person to tell you to trust in making that first step. Okay?"

"Maggie...!" Cera's eyes got really watery, sniffling sounding out as Cera turns around and walks it back to the next closest bench. He goes to sit and bury his face in his hands.

"Cera...! Oh no..." Maggie goes up to comfort Cera, unsure of if this was only making it worse. She... She made a stranger cry, after all!

However... Before Maggie could speak again, the three from across the gym approach. A stallion with too much muscle and too little head, a bloodhound with tattoos and spiked clothes out the wazoo, and a frog in a beanie and hoodie who clearly didn't belong.

"Made the newbie cry? Wow, and here we thought you had a chance, you white devil~" The Hound spoke, toothpick in mouth as Maggie got caught from behind.

"What?!" Maggie exclaimed, unaware of what was happening.

"Don't play dumb, lady, your man's a bona-fide puss*! They probably got one too, no surgery from any doctor in the galaxy could ever remove those tit*, baha!" The frog pervertedly poked fun at Cera, who looks up with a sunken shocked expression, like he was watching a car accident in real time.

"What the... what the hell is wrong with you people?! Can't you see he was just trying to work out? Leave him alone!" Maggie got defensive, albeit shaky-voiced.

"That pig-nosed freak? They work out at the internet café, not the gym! Probably getting the porkiest sandwich there too, no way in hell they could work that off! Once a fat*ss, always a fat*ss." The stallion then stepped forward, pushing past Maggie and poking at Cera's stomach.

Cera tries to back up, but hits the wall with his tail. "S-stop...! Please stop..." Cera couldn't keep up the voice anymore. A sad, girlish cry came from his throat as the other two laughed.

Maggie, deciding now was a better time than any to employ her training then ever. She takes stallion's vulnerable stance as a sign of weakness.

Maggie swiftly takes a stance that enables a throat-chop on the equine, sending him reeling onto the mat.

"What the-?! Ow, you bitch!" He fumbles at getting up, and the other two try to get the drop on Maggie.

"Oh no you don't!" Maggie ducks, then bobs to the side. She nails the frog in the kidneys as he tried to pounce at her, sending him back and clutching his gut like he broke a rib (if there really were any down there).

Meanwhile, the Hound comes in faster and stronger than the rest - even the musclebound stallion. However, that only meant he fell the hardest when Maggie employs a reversal toss to grapple him and put him on his ass with an echoing THUD!

"The f*ck?! Oh... ow...!" The frog clearly wasn't built for this, getting up at the same time as the horse.

Maggie assumes a defensive stance in front of the crying Cera. "You seriously would attack an unarmed woman and an obese man? You probably steal from children and the elderly too, huh?" Maggie pulled no punches.

"Bold talk for a slu*t like you! I bet you just wanna get in their pants, you chaser!" The horse gets up, making the mistake of going for another punch.

Maggie matches their hand with her palm and grips it, twisting his arm and refusing to let go, pulling him towards her to ensure the other two didn't go after her.

"f*ck, f*ck f*ck fuuuuuck!!! Let me go- AAAGGHH-!!" An audible pop from his elbow syncs with his scream.

"Chances are you don't know the first thing about love. That's why you have the time to come here and make fun of the lives of people below you, huh? Because nobody wants you? Because nobody wants a BITCH who would hit them and call them words like 'slu*t' and 'chaser'? Is that it?!"

The other two and Cera watch in horror as Maggie exerts something she'd bottled up for a long time... a part of her she thought she once left behind.

"It is! It is!!!! f*ck, I'm unlovable! I'm a bitch and I'm an abusive prick! How the hell can you two find happiness, and we- CKAAUGHH!!!" A final more strong snapping noise broke out as his arm went past the threshold, becoming more like a piece of licorice.

Maggie lets him go, his arm twisted and flush interally with blood from Maggie's violent grip.

"The hell is wrong with this bitch? She's psycho! We gotta get the hell outta here, man!" The frog shouts to the hound, who already has the same idea.

The hound scoops up his buddy delicately around his shoulder from the floor in front of Maggie, who was now ready for anything. "Damn you! We're gonna report you to the Sector 5 PD, I'm not forgetting you!"

"Try me, man. You guys threw the first punches, and Spot's got it all on camera." Maggie points to Spot, who admittedly had his phone out recording the whole thing instead of intervening.

"How you guys like the sound of going Worldstar?" Spot ominously spoke.

"f*ck me...! Let's go!" The Hound and frog bounded back outta there, and Maggie immediately turns to the pressing matter once Spot made sure they were gone for good.

"Oh my god... Cera, are you alright? I'm so sorry you had to see that. I-"

However, Cera stood up and immediately hugged Maggie. "I'm so sorry, Maggie! You didn't have to do that, I... I feel so bad! *sniffle* ... I don't know what to do with myself..."

Maggie, knowing when a good time to throw in the towel was, hugged Cera back - and tight. Sure, he's a stranger, but that was some scary sh*t. You take the support where you can out here.

"I'm... *sniffle*... I'm sorry too, Cera. I didn't mean to scare you..."

After another second or two of hugging, Cera lets go and steps back to look around. Thankfully, Spot was the man for the job in getting everyone to leave them alone and look away. Spot gave Maggie a thumbs up. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all?

"Maggie, you didn't hear what they said about... y'know..." Cera was very embarrassed and emotionally ashamed from it. Cera practically said it all in a whisper.

"I did. And to be completely honest... I'm the same way."

"What?!" Somehow, Maggie had the adrenaline now to say it straight up. It caught Cera here by surprise. "So wait... you're... a boy?"

"I... I mean, no! No, not anymore. You and I are opposites, actually. I could tell because of your scars... and your voice."

"Wh-what?! No..." Cera teared up again, pulling down the riding-up tank-top due to self-consciousness, even though the sweat from the workout and the confrontation made it basically see-through by now. Maybe Maggie shouldn't have said that...

Maggie grabs Cera's free hand, sitting next to him now. "Hey, it's alright! Breathe square breaths, they help rebuild stamina the fastest. Just count one to four for four times with me, okay?"

"Oh... O-O-Okay..."

Maggie holds the hand tight, and the two go a few rounds of square, calming breaths before finally having slowed down. Maggie and Cera detense, then let go of each other's hands.

"Maggie... thank you. I'm... I'm so sorry you had to see that."

"It's what anyone would do, Cera. But, uh..." Both of them clearly sweated up a storm, so the message was as clear as day. "You wanna get ready to go?"

Cera went red, confused. "What?! Where to?"

"Your house, dummy."

"You know where I live?!?"

"No! No, I'm saying we will each go our own ways for now."

"Oh... for now, huh? Does that mean... you wanna see me again?"

Maggie's buzzers went off. Are you saying she actually hit it off with someone her age here?!? That's insane!!! Wait... this was the perfect chance!

"Yea! You want my number? I'll take yours too! We can chat. You got Discord?" Too many questions at once, Maggie! Chill!!!!

Cera was overwhelmed for a moment, but soon really happy. "Really?! I'd love that! Let me know when you're ready, I'm gonna get those for you quick! And... I'll give you my number too!"

The two scan their Discords, and become friends.

No way... Maggie did it! She actually became friends with someone!!!

"You call me anytime someone f*cks with you, okay? I'm gonna make them pay, I'm gonna be here for you."

Maggie clasped Cera's hand with both her own, looking him in the eye. She had to make it count while the tension was still high.

"O-okay. Thank you, Maggie..." Cera gets up, then starting for the locker room again.

Maggie watches as he goes, going to her own door, before seeing him waving goodbye. Maggie waves goodbye back.

Holy sh*t... she did it!

Maggie showers and gets dressed as soon as possible. She tries to get outside to see if Cera were available to hang out since it was her day off, but he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she shouldn't have said she was going to go home?

Damn...

Suddenly, it all catches up to her at once, and the nausea from the situation causes her to throw up.

"Oh... oh sh*t..." Well, there goes her breakfast. Or what's left of it after her workout digested it for her, that is.

After getting up from the trash bin outside Forge, Maggie can hear the sound of sirens down the block. Sure enough, there those two were by the stallion. He was being helped on the stretcher, his arm in a sling.

Maggie did that? Sure, they were harassing them, but she never had to use that before. Did she go too far?

...No, doubts won't get you anywhere. You did what was right, and you have to stand by it. As for the situation itself, though.

"Holy sh*t... I gotta get outta here." So Maggie had the rest of the day to herself. She walked away as if nothing happened!

And you know what? She was hungry.

Maybe just being around Cera made her less self-conscious, or maybe it was having lost the one thing she ate... But for some reason or another, despite all the conflict, Maggie felt better than she had in a while.

Maggie opens her phone and heads down the block to the nearest pizza place, just down the block. She could use a slice.

---

Before long, Maggie finds herself with a text from Cera on Discord while enjoying a fresh slice of veggie pizza. Maggie was eating in, and she knew she would have leftovers, but a small pizza in itself was a worthwhile treat.

Toothy McTeefers (10:32 IST): Maggie?
Toothy McTeefers (10:32 IST): Why is your username fa*ggoat?

Ah, that.

fa*ggoat (10:33 IST): Oh, good question.
fa*ggoat (10:34 IST): I must've set it a while ago, I don't even really remember why.
fa*ggoat (10:34 IST): It must've been an inside joke or something. I forgor 💀

Hitting him with the 'forgor,' a true nerd-ass through and through. Though he probably doesn't know it's from her... art community, in one way or another. Not even Maggie's friends knew that.

Toothy McTeefers (10:35 IST): Aha.
Toothy McTeefers (10:35 IST): Well where are you @ rn? I just got out of the gym.

Just now?! Oh goodness, Maggie should have waited...!

fa*ggoat (10:36 IST): I thought you said we were gonna go our own ways for now? /hj,lh
fa*ggoat (10:36 IST): I'm at Bruno's. You know by where the coin lockers are?

Maggie's pizza was going a little cold, she couldn't quite just text with one hand and eat with the other.

Toothy McTeefers (10:37 IST): I thought you said you were trying to slim down?

fa*ggoat (10:37 IST): It's my cheat day. I don't have to work, so I'm doing myself a favor after... that.
fa*ggoat (10:37 IST): what about you? wyd after this? you busy?

Toothy McTeefers (10:38 IST): omw

Oh! Sooner than expected, huh? Maggie decided to hold off on her pizza, at least until Cera arrived. She wanted to treat him, it seemed fair... but the question arose of whether she should for his sake. Health-wise, that is.

fa*ggoat (10:39 IST): Take your time!!! I'll b here

Cera didn't respond, he might've just been walking the whole way to be honest. Maggie decides to watch a NuTube video, and can't help but nibble a bit as she waited.

11 on the dot rolls around, and the massive shark slowly walks in with a backpack and a new set of clothes. A pair of massive black overalls and a T-shirt with an anime girl on it Maggie didn't recognize. Additionally, Cera was all showered up and had his hair done nice and frizzy.

It was honestly a really cute look for him!

"Hello again... huff... Maggie!" Cera wobbles over, taking a seat by her. His force sitting down shakes the whole bench, and many of the patrons watch.

'Really? The fat boy sits with the skinny girl? Was she some kind of freak?' Maggie needed to get these notions out of her head.

Maggie smiles nervously, she must be blushing so hard... 'Wow! He's so big...! I still can't believe it!' She thought.

"You already order for me? Heheheh..." Cera pokes fun at Maggie's food of choice, but in a lighthearted way with a deeper tone again. "But really though, small veggie, huh? I already ordered online on my way. They know me here, so it should be over in a sec."

"Know you? As in... you used to work here?" *Maggie, Maggie, Maggie...* blissfully ignorant as always.

"As in I love their food. The meat-lovers is to die for, they put bacon-wrapped smokies with brown sugar on it! Isn't that crazy?"

Maggie wasn't quite sure what to say to be honest. She felt like she was in the twilight zone, and Cera was her invitation to another world she knew nothing about.

"Oh, I should try some of that. That sounds good!" Maggie did really like the sound of it, though, she smiled and took another bite.

"Thanks for standing up for me back there, this is my way of repaying you." Before long, the pizza comes over.

"It's nothing! Again, it was what anyone would do. Plus you don't seem like you'd hurt a fly. I'd love to be your gym buddy if you plan on going more, we could slim you down if you really want!"

"We'll see. Thank you for the offer though! That's really sweet of you." Cera smiled warmly. God, he was so cute...

"There ya go, Cera! Thanks for stopping by after all this time, it's been a minute." The catboy smiles at Cera, Maggie was clearly missing out on context.

"You're good TJ, I'm here with my new pal Maggie." Cera points at Maggie, and she waves robotically and nervously. "We're splitting it today."

Splitting it? As in... 4 slices for her of a large, deep-dish pizza?!? Umm...

"Good luck with that!" TJ then turns to Maggie, giving her a wry look. "And good luck with this guy, here. He's one helluva dude you'll come to find, heheheh..."

Cera blushed as TJ gave him a hard time. "Stop it, you! You're too good to me."

"Anytime, anytime." TJ walks back to the kitchen to help the next table. What an interesting fellow, he kinda reminded Maggie of Archer a bit.

"Cera... we're splitting it? Like... the whole thing? Or do you mean the bill?" Maggie, like at Cera, was simply in shock of the amount of meat at display here.

"No, you're right, I meant the pizza. This is nothing, though, Maggie. You should see my fridge, heheh..." Cera for once sounded really happy, and at least Cera was willing to make fun of himself. It showed that he didn't mind making light of his size on his own time, and that made Maggie feel better for him.

"This veggie's filing me as is. You sure about this? Like, really really sure?"

"Why the hesitation? You said it was your cheat day." Cera had a point... Maggie talked the talk, now she had to walk the walk.

"Well, I probably can't eat as much as you. I threw up on my way here from the stress! How could I hold down 4 slices of deep dish meat-lovers?"

Cera puts a slice on her plate. "At least try it, though. I bet an athlete like you needs all the protein she can get!"

Maggie takes a sip of her water to quell her anxious stomach, then takes her first bite of the meat-lovers. It was... really good! It had lots of flavor despite the hom*ogeny of the meat, and was nice and filling. Not too greasy either, it was creamy and the dough seemed like it was made in-house. Reminded her of when she and her parents made homemade pizza when she was young.

Cera grabs his and bites into it like a true shark would. While chewing, he sips his soda and turns to Maggie. "Drfnk yrr drfnk fter r durfng ya chfw... *gulp*, ahh... it helps break down your bite and digest it faster, giving you more room."

"Jimmy Chestnut invented that one I hear. He was a professional eater, and he worked all the time to keep it down after competing, it caused him lots of health problems though." Maggie takes her next bite, realizing she didn't have to care about modesty around Cera.

"Well, we live in an era where we can mitigate those risks through technology. When I realized I was going to struggle with this, I got an iron liver installed." Cera pokes his tummy, showing the line of a scar along his fold. "See there?"

"Oh! That's smart, but I hope it didn't cost too much." Maggie gets her first slice down, drinking as she went. Meanwhile, Cera was almost done with his second.

"My metabolism is just baked into my blood, but at least I can eat and drink all I want. I bet I could drink a whole bottle of poison if I wanted!" Cera jested, of course.

"But the medical bills... and HRT, plus your surgery? I haven't gotten that far yet. How could you afford all of that?" Maggie looked up to Cera for advice, here.

"Sure, it's a bit much... but it's worth it. HRT gives me a manly appetite, as it should. And don't worry about my wallet, I make good enough money at Icarus as a software engineer, and good insurance comes with the package. The copays are the least of my concern for T."

Maggie couldn't believe what she just heard. Icarus?! That's wild!

"Holy sh*t, you work at Icarus? I'm training to be a cargo pilot, and after I get my internships done I wanna work for them! How'd you get in?" Maggie excitedly bit into her next slice, her pace and hunger returned to pre-vomit levels. She ate more today than she has on any day in a long time, and it felt right.

"It's not that big a deal! I signed onto their Academics Partnership track, then transferred to the trade school where I got my certification with them. Now I work there, at their HQ satellite by Sector 3. The commute sucks, but the compensation and off-time is generous. And... Yea, I lied about living close, I live a short ways away on another Sector. Not gonna bore you with the details..." Cera lay out a third slice for Maggie before she even finished her second. "But that's incredible to hear, Maggie! I work with engineers and pilots all the time to develop the computers for those things, it's super cool! I bet you'd love it."

Maggie suddenly was fully invested, she didn't even notice herself finishing her second slice this time. "Thft's incrfdfble! Mfn... *gulp*, aahh... wow, and this stuff is really good, too! You sure know how to live, huh Cera?"

Cera's tone changed to a more neutral one. "More or less. I stay in my room all the time, I don't really like to do anything other than game, browse the internet, and play DnD with my friends on the weekend. It's probably boring stuff for an athlete like you, though."

"What?! No way, if I could return to that lifestyle, I would in a heartbeat." Maggie works on her third slice. Her stomach felt some resistance before, and it definitely did now, but she ignored it.

"What? Return? No way...! You're too traditional!"

"Traditional? No, no... my friends are geeks, I'm invested! I'm just the estranged one, I work out to forget my past."

"That's deep..." Cera almost swooned at that, he certainly was admiring it. "But you do things like that? I never took you for a gamer."

"Oh, I'm not. But I do art, and I know all about the communities and the characters. I only make time for a few games in my life, and they're ones I'm already invested in."

"Like what?"

"I like Undertale and Deltarune. Sonic is cool, too, I guess."

"Oh, you're a NERD nerd alright. Through and through." Cera laughed, and Maggie laughed back with a smile. "What kind of art do you do?"

Oh no. If Maggie shows or tells Cera what kind of art she does, he'll know Maggie's a freak.

What does she do?! She can't just tell him about the kind of art she does! What if she just finds the least suggestive piece and shows him that?

"O-oh! Yeah! Hhahahh..." Maggie pulls out her phone and holds it close, trying to find the one of the knight lady, that one's not too bad... "Here!"

Maggie holds out her phone nervously, and Cera scans it for a moment. Then a moment of realization flashes over Cera's eyes. And finally, he stares at Maggie wide-eyed.

"Um, did I do something wrong with it?" Maggie's stomach sunk deep, too deep.

"Maggie... what's your Twitter handle exactly?" Oh no...

"Oh! I-I'm @GoatsOnnaGrind... why?" Cera's eyes widened at hearing this.

"No... what's your alt handle?" OH NO OH NO NO NO THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING.

"I-I-I don't know if you'd like that art to be honest! I mean, it's-"

"@GoatsAfterDark? That's the alt for that account, Maggie. Are you really 'Maggots For The Goat Queen'?" OH f*ck OH f*ck OH f*ck.

"A-and if I was...?" Maggie couldn't keep her secret for sh*t. Dammit! Why did this have to happen?! This is so embarrassing!!!

"Oh my god... I follow you! Your art is amazing! It's so cute, I had no idea you were like that! Hahahah~!" Cera bursts out laughing, and Maggie's eyes feel like they're twitching. "I feel like I'm meeting a celebrity, that's so crazy! I love the piece you did with that person's sharksona at the pool, it made me feel so seen!"

"My god. I am so, so sorry Cera. I just... I never expected to talk about this in public. It's really embarrassing." Maggie felt immense guilt over her. It was as if a switch was flipped, and two seperate people in Cera's mind must've merged into one.

"You kidding? You're art's really hot! Me and my buddies on our server post your art there all the time! You really are like a celebrity there."

"Wh-what can I say? The numbers are what keep me going, hehehe...! But yea, I'm no saint!" Maggie didn't know the first thing about talking about this. In fact, it must've painted Maggie helping out Cera at the gym in a whole new context for him.

"That can't be true, Maggie. You're a sweet person, you helped me out. You're an awesome person, even! And I'm a nobody who likes fatfur art on the down-lo."

"O-Okay, I'm gonna be real and honest for a sec... I'm sorry if all this has changed how you view me. I didn't approach you at the gym because I had any ulterior motives, I seriously just wanted to help out."

"What? Of course, Maggie! This doesn't change anything, if anything it's even better! The only thing I didn't expect was that you'd be so tiny!"

"R-relatively speaking, yea! But... that means a lot, hehe..." Maggie slowly moved past the guilt, and Cera seemed to understand.

Maggie finished her final slice, because Cera seemed to have 5 instead of 4. Looking at Maggie's plate, he looks at Maggie and smiles.

"I guess I made the right call, huh? Let's hang out again sometime! I'm gonna message you so much, you have no idea. Feel free to talk to me about your art, my buddies would love to have you!"

"Oh! Okay! I would really like that! Hehehe..." Maggie's whole face must've been red against her cream-colored coat of fur. She scratches the back of her head, and Cera holds out his hand.

"Hi five! Like earlier, yeah? It's my turn." Maggie, realizing what this meant, hi-fives Cera, and Cera pumps his fist. "Hell yeah! I'll see you later, then! Keep in touch, Maggie!"

Cera got up to pay his bill, then waddled away and waving to Maggie as he left.

"Bye, Maggie! See you soon!"

"Bye, Cera! You too!"

Then, Maggie was alone. The store was quiet again with the radio, and it was Maggie's turn to pay for her pizza and leave. After that? She was going to get home and do art. She was particularly inspired after today, and for some reason had a really strong urge to masturbat*.

But still...

"Oh my god... What did I just do?"

Chapter 3: Awakening

Chapter Text

A week or so passes by. Maggie and Cera regularly message now, making regular trips to the gym together where they discussed the community as well as Cera's friendgroup. She wasn't part of it, but heard lots of great things.

After long days of flying cargo ships with Eric and Felix, Maggie takes a load off by checking up with Cera about the latest games they were into, or streamers.

They loved going out and trying food at different places afterwards. The notion of a cheat day didn't really stand anymore, and to be fair Maggie actually ate better than she has in a while.

It wasn't nice on her wallet, but with Cera splitting it and moving away from spending on unnecessary commissions, Maggie managed.

Maggie never quite mentioned Cera to her IRL friends when they asked how her gym trips were doing, but Maggie did mention she's improving her eating habits. This pleased them, for now.

Still... the fact that she would happen into someone like this on a whim was wild. It felt too good to be true! And all these hangouts? It felt oddly tense, but not in a bad way.

Cera liked sharing with Maggie, and Maggie accepted, but Maggie in the back of her mind couldn't get it out of her head that they both thought about this... in a different kinda way.

In particular, today Maggie and Cera decide to cut their gym trip short to try the opening of a new Cheesecake place. Cera having a visibly hard time walking made Maggie wriggle, so she had to keep her eyes off of him to not rile herself up. Did Cera know, though? About... how that made her feel?

The two arrive and take their seats. Maggie orders a small Key-Lime Pie, and Cera a large Vanilla Raspberry Cheesecake. Because of recent events, Maggie fought day in and day out to keep in shape, and made daily checks on her weight. However, While she kept her same size, she couldn't help but focus on the lessening lean-ness on her stomach. Particularly, her abs seemed less toned than usual.

"Something on your mind?" Cera thought, sipping from a boba tea he ordered. Maggie snapped back to life from thought.

"Sorta. I was just thinking... why did you visit the gym that one day?"

"You mean last week? Oh, I lost a bet, and my pals said I had to work out in public. Real embarrassing sh*t."

"Sounds like it. You mean your fatfur friends, yea? That their idea of a joke?" Maggie sipped her extra-sweet pink lemonade.

"Well, the bet was that I had a month to meet someone IRL and make friends with them. They kept telling me to 'touch grass' and all that, but they knew it would be hard for me."

"They meant well though, yea?"

"Oh, of course! They knew I was struggling from severe depression, and wanted me to make a change. It just sucks that I actually land it *after* I lose the bet, huh?"

"Well, it doesn't suck per se. I'm glad I met you! Your friends sound good too, I'm shocked you haven't invited me yet."

"I guess nobody ever asked! I'll send it to you now."

Cera shoots Maggie the invite, ignoring the rest of their DMs full of WIPs of large women... how did this happen again? It was still so hard to believe.

Maggie joins, then introduces herself.

fa*ggoat has just joined! Say hi!

Toothy McTeefers (10:01 IST): 👋

fa*ggoat (10:01 IST): Hello!!!

The server is quiet for a moment as they eat their treats for breakfast. Finally, someone responds.

Cheeks++ (10:05 IST): NO WAY IS THE GOAT HERE
Ominous Floating Orb of Corn (10:06 IST): wait what
Toothy McTeefers (10:06 IST): She's awesome lol, you're in good company Mag

Maggie looked up, shocked Cera put that in. Cera shrugged. "Oh, sorry." Cera then edits out the Mag part.

The two chat there a while, and Maggie finds out she has all kinds of fans. They like her style, the way she draws the curves and shapes... some of them people she's already done commissions for unknowingly!

"This is crazy... I've thought about it now and again all the time this last week, but still... how did it end up like this for me?" Maggie slides her pie tin forward, having finished her part and intending to take the remaining slices home.

"Well, you wanted in too, yea? Only fair of me, you deserve places you can socialize and feel special."

"But I already feel special. I wanna be normal."

Cera laughed, sliding Maggie's pie tin back at her. "No you don't! You're with me, which means you gotta eat the whole thing now!"

"Again? This is nutty, what makes you think I can fit all this?"

"Because you did it before without complaining, don't see why you can't now."

"I'll get... you know..." Maggie pats her tummy, which was clearly full and upset.

"...and?" Maggie gulped at those words. Her face was really red this time, and Cera seemed to notice.

Cera goes ahead and scoots closer, picking up a slice and moving it towards Maggie's mouth.

'Am I really doing this?' Maggie asked herself, her heart racing and a major mess.

Maggie opens her maw, taking a bite and chewing, then swallowing. She then goes for the next bite, which is moved closer to her face as Cera looks entertained.

Finally, Maggie finishes it, green flecks all over her face.

"Lick it."

"What?"

"Get every bit off my fingers for me. I don't have a napkin."

"O-okay!"

Maggie then leans in, scaredly and delicately licking off the shark's fingertips. His skin was really smooth...

"...was that too weird?" Cera looks up, taking a step back for a moment. They technically were in a remote booth near the back, but it was a busy opening day and they were bound to get some glances should anyone have seen it.

"I... I kinda liked it! I never really took myself for a feedee..."

"Really? You're into fatfurs, I thought it came free with your copy!"

"I mean... I thought about it? To be honest, when I first saw you, I was like... 'oh god, imagine I were that big!', but I never really thought about the act of doing it and getting there."

"You really wanna be as big as me? You sure *you're* not the crazy one?"

"I-I am. I am that crazy, I think... b-because I *really* liked it." Maggie looked at the pie, then at Cera. "But my gym bod... Would I be able to be strong *and* fat? I'm tiny, I don't have the build or metabolism."

"Well, have you tried?"

"No."

"Would you like to?"

Maggie froze, her heart trying to fight her mind in making the decision.

"That'd be cool!! Yea, why not?" Maggie failed to consider every other aspect of her life in that moment. What about her friends? Work? Aster? Felix, even? Felix knew... but what would their *friends* say?

"It's been a week since we last hung out, huh? You off today?" Cera looks at his phone, then puts it away.

"Yea, why?"

"I'm coming to your place."

"What?"

"You joked about it the first time, remember? But you really wanted to, didn't you? And you said you didn't have an ulterior motive, yet here you are."

"I-I don't! It wasn't my idea, dummy!" The tsundere side came out of Maggie, since it was already established she was enjoying it.

"So... what? You want us to do it in public? How did you think it was gonna happen, dummy."

"I... I'm not sure! I need a moment." Maggie stopped, closed her eyes, and employed her breathing... but the stress was getting to her.

"...Hey, I was joking. We don't have to if you don't want."

"No. I've made up my mind."

"Oh?"

"My life until now... I've tried so hard to keep up the facade of someone who works hard, but deep down I'm just a girl. I can't keep my pre-transition lifestyle if it doesn't make me happy. I want to change."

"And... this is how you plan to change?"

"I really want it. Like, really *really* want it. I've been denying that feeling my whole life, but it seems so lavish... and *really* hot."

"Lavish how? We're not millionaires, plus it gets really dirty."

"R-really? Hooh... even better~. I mean... what?" Maggie had to keep herself in check.

"Maggie, I've known you for a week. Like, actually. Are you really, *really* sure? You sure you wanna have me over and be part of this? And... *me* of all people?" Cera did seem genuinely very self conscious. Maggie knew this was the moment to dial back her horny thoughts and be there for him.

"Hey... don't say that. I wouldn't consider it if I didn't want you to be part of it. You're really cute! And so soft... You're, like, one of my only friends right now!"

"What?" Cera sounded distraught that Maggie just admitted that. Not the soft part though, that's where his emotions just got confused.

"I mean... let's just go! I hardly know you, but you're a good guy!" Maggie gets up, clasping Cera's soft hands once again. Hers were small and dainty compared to his fat grabbers... "I trusted you to be the one who would hear me out about this, Cera. You know that, right?"

Cera felt his heart beat at the sight of this, then tried to get himself under control. "Y-yes! I wanna go now! Let's pack up."

---

Maggie opens the door to her quarters, and lays down her gym bag, taking off her jacket. She still wore her fresh post-workout bra and booty-shorts, and Cera immediately got frazzled by it since the jacket more or less covered all of it.

"W-woah! Really? I... I guess I didn't know what to expect."

Maggie stretches, putting her jacket in the laundry chute. She turns to her bedroom and looks back. "I'll get something decent on, then I wanna show you around!"

Cera then spoke, stopping her. "Wait! Can you... keep it on?"

Maggie got confused, then came back. "You want me to wear this?"

"It... it looks really pretty! You..." Cera tried hard to overcorrect, but soon stammered on his nerdy words and choked out a response with a voice-crack. "yOu're pretty..." Cera then clasped his hands over his mouth, face red and eyes wide. But was it the voice-crack? Or the words?

To be fair, Maggie's face was also red. She tried really hard to hold back what she was about to say with her mind, but once again she lost control.

"C-can I see yours?"

Cera could be heard breathing faster, and Maggie freaked out as it was clear her tucking was coming undone because of... her feelings.

"M-my what, Maggie? What do you want to see?" Cera played along, like they were both bottoms scared to take the wheel and harm the other. Or... you know what? It was exactly that.

"Y-your scars! I never got to... see them..." Maggie's words trailed off ominously, as if she lost the voice to say them.

"Is... is that all?" Cera laughed out the last part, almost in response to Maggie's lostness through her words.

Cera's glance lowered as it was clear Maggie had a major hard-on right now.

"...Yes! I am *so* sorry, I just... heheh~ I don't know what's come over me! I..." Maggie tried to talk her way out of it, but Cera was already taking his top off.

His tight binder barely fit across his chest, and the bouncing of the belly rolls from his tucked shirt as it came off... all of him was bouncing, really. And the binder? Well, even after a top surgery he still needed it for his moobs.

"I... are we even, here? You said you want to see my scars, though... Do I have to take the binder off, too?" Cera sounded nervous at that last part.

Maggie walks closer, as if to get a better look. "No! No, if you're not comfortable with it, please don't!"

Cera looks away, then takes a deep breath in. Finally, Cera let's the air out, and lurches forward. His lips meet with Maggie's in a major moment of shock, her eyes wide as his are closed tight shut.

However, it doesn't take more than a few seconds for Maggie to close them in turn, her face also relaxing as does Cera's.

Maggie reciprocated the kiss, putting her arms around Cera and grabbing his ass. He moans, and Cera pulls Maggie closer, playing with her cotton tail. Maggie winces sheepishly in her womanly tone.

Maggie knew the two of them were hanging out and talking about fatfur stuff... and sure, there was tension since both of them knew the other liked this kind of stuff... not to mention mutually single.

But wow, they really got into it!

Before long, Cera goes tongue in, and Maggie returns it almost immediately. They angle their muzzles such that their noses didn't bump, and then they went to town. Their tongues wrestled like serpents, and their hands freely caressed each other's bodies as they moaned and let their difference in size disappear as Cera picked Maggie up by her ass, lifting her to his face so he didn't have to lean.

Before long, he gets tired and let's Maggie go, her tongue puffy and drooling as his glasses fogged up and both were bright red. They catch their breaths, and after a moment, Maggie speaks between the breaths.

"Looks like we... hhahhhh~... we got our workout in... huh?... hahhh..."

"That was... huff... really hot! You're so tiny... but you have a... haugh~... pronounced set of hips... You are REALLY cute, too." Maybe it was the size difference talking, but his point still stood.

Maggie soaked in the complement, and revelled in the image of her at his size. She wanted it more by the second, and had completely cast aside all other priorities. It occured to her at this moment that she ought to ask a very important question.

"Are we, like... houghh... a thing, now? I mean... we don't gotta if you don't-"

"Please! Please let me... hahhhh~
... be your boyfriend! I wanna be your plaything so bad, and I wanna... *houugh*...~!"

Maggie freaked out. She clenched her hoof-hands and shook, then closed her eyes and shouted. "YYYEEESSS! I SCORED A FAT BITCH!!! YEEEAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

Cera let out a hearty laughter, but spoke mockingly after. "Hey now, don't let the neighbors know just yet. They should learn when we rock the foundation, first."

"Oh my god, you're right! That'd be crazy, haha..." Maggie didn't even notice she was being so loud, but she was also... crying? "Yes..."

Maggie falls into the couch, then relaxes. Her arms and legs are splayed out. She didn't even bother to wipe the slobber or readjust her clothes. She closed her eyes, then continued crying. She openly wept.

"Maggie?! Did I do something?" Cera goes over to her side, his stamina back. His arms go around her shoulders.

"I'm just... I'm just so happy! I don't even know you, but you love me... I don't deserve this...!" Maggie wipes her tears, getting the slobber with it. It's hard for her to make eye contact. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster...

"Um..." Cera had to think for a moment, then came up on the words. "Maggie, do you wanna... take it slow?"

"How so?" Maggie froze up,

"Well, we really did just jump into it. We've talked about fatfur stuff this whole time, but... if you want us to be friends first, that can work!"

"J-just friends?" Her voice stammered, almost sad at the implied notion.

"N-no!! I mean... we're dating, but... maybe just go on some normal dates first, yea? Learn about one another, get comfortable being around one another." Cera sat next to Maggie like she did him, and Maggie leans into it.

"Oh Cera...! I would love that." Maggie is glad now, smiling through the tears.

"Oh, good! I thought I upset you, haha..." Cera scratched his head. "But it's about you, first. I'll put you before myself if I have to!"

"Hey, that's my line, dummy! You want the bull, you get the horns. Two can play at that game!"

"Just you wait until you hear about all my cool collectables back at my place! It's an otaku's paradise, you'll get to know me and my roommate in no time!"

Maggie took a step back, but not in a bad way. "Oh! You have a roommate?" Maggie co*cks her head.

"Right, I guess I never mentioned it. He's my ex, but he still lives with me. He helps get me nice things, and he's funny to have around. You might like him."

"Does that mean us staying at your place is off the table?"

"Well..." Cera went a little blue, then looked back at Maggie. "He... H-He knows about my k-kink... and h-he...! He..." Cera got really nervous about this.

"Woah, hey! Don't gotta say it if it's bad memories. They're behind you, yea? We can have our kinkier dates here!"

"You think so? I... I'd rather not talk about our relationship, then. I don't want bad blood, and I'm not comfortable talking about it right now." Cera put the thought in the fridge. For another day, surely.

"It's cool! I wanna meet your friends, and your friends can meet mine! I could even take you to my hometown!"

"Where's that?"

"Oh, you probably never heard of it."

"I dunno about that! I've heard of my fair share of odd places. Try me."

"Place on the far side of Mercury called Aster. Kinda arid town, but got that rural vibe and a humble population. Kinda transphobic, but I lived. Ring a bell?"

Cera stopped completely, like he was frozen. Then, after a moment of processing, Cera resumed with a normal reaction. "We could say that."

"Really! How so?"

"Um... S-someone I knew grew up there. That's all."

"Wow, small world!"

"Uhuh..."

Maggie got up, then stretched and yawned. Cera got a nice front-seat view of goat ass, no longer bothering to tuck. She then turns around, making a face.

"For tonight though, wanna watch a movie? I got some really bad comedies you'd hate me for showing you."

"Wow! Really? I-I'd like that!" He seemed happy to change the subject. "B-but... can we eat something? I'm starving."

"Already? We just ate, fat boy. I'll order some pizza from Bruno's though. You gotta show me the ropes on how to gain! Don't wanna stay behind for long, you gotta be my slave and feed me~!"

Maggie's tone became like someone else completely, showing her dommy side. Cera gulped, putting his hands up like paws.

"Good boy~! I think I know how this is gonna go, you're gonna be my pet and I'll be your master. Wanna sign that contract with me, then?"

"Y-yes Master!" Cera played along, once again riled up.

Maggie puts her finger to his lip, "Good boy. You've officially signed a deal with the devil. Your cardinal sin? Gluttony. Prepare to atone for your sins and do whatever I say."

"Y-yes ma'am!" Cera liked how into it they both were.

"Don't be so enthusiastic! This is your punishment, dirty boy. Obey your master and I might let you get your hands on my growing, diabolical form... do we have a deal?"

"S-sure! I mean... okay! I mean...!" He didn't know what to say to not be enthusiastic, but was silenced with a lighthearted kiss.

"Really though. Cera, if I'm ever too much, say the word. You really do come first, and if our fantasies become too... extreme, or you feel a bad response, tag out or give me a word. Call me Maggie or Mag, okay?"

Cera tuned back in, appreciating the level of respect Maggie has for him. "You sound like you've practiced this. Of course, Maggie! I love you, I really do. I can't wait to get to know you and your devil better."

"My devil, huh? I like that...! But when she's in, you can call her Madame." She lids her eyes and shrugs her shoulders again. "And you will address me by that at all times, yes?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"What was that?"

"Y-yes Madame!" Cera winced, liking being toyed around with.

"Good maggot. Now let's go pick a movie. I wanna have a real giggle with you, Cera." Maggie swaps back on a dime, grabbing Cera's shoulder. "But first I gotta change. And this once? I'll let you watch."

"G-got it!" He willingly follows.

---

The two sits on the floor of the living room, watching the TV and snacking on a DIY trail mix with pretzels, chocolate candies, popcorn, and almonds. The salty and sweet combinations meant they had to wash it down with plenty of soda, and not even before the halfway point they run out.

Cera loudly likes to narrate things and comment sarcastically about the movie in real time, but there were times during emotional scenes Cera would learn to be quiet. He had to be hushed several times, though it was clear it was part of his condition. And to be fair, Maggie DID say they were bad comedies. Gus was to blame for sure, but it gave Maggie an idea of how Cera's humor was and vice versa.

Before long, the pizza arrived. A little late, sure, but Cera decided he would extend his stay when he noticed her shelf full of classic game consoles from the last millennium. The two of them popped in Mario Party 8 and proceeded to make each others' lives living hell. All the while, their greasy fingers got all over the wii remotes, but Maggie knew her clean-freak side would take care of it later.

"Are you kidding?! That was mine!! How did you even get enough coins to buy that, it was my property!!! And my stars...!" Cera sounded devastated as Maggie evilly laughs.

"I'm the queen of minigames, Cera. No amount of experience can beat someone who played this all through their childhood."

"Not fair! I'm supposed the be the gamer, here!"

Eventually the winner is decided, and Cera comes back on top thanks to some bonus stars and a clutch final turnaround. In truth, though? Maggie threw for him. And he was loving every minute of it.

The two celebrated by toasting novelty plastic movie-theater cups with Root Beer from a 2-liter. They then proceeded to chow down fully as promised.

"I still don't get it, did you get that way on purpose? I can't quite tell whether you're a feeder, feedee or both."

"Oh, this? It happened naturally, though I did stoke the flames growing up. I was pushed around for being the fat kid, and I never liked working out." Cera takes a chunk out of his slice, then washes it down quickly with soda. "I got exposed to fatfur content when I was really young and into the idea of RP and being an artist. I really liked Warrior Cats and The Lion King as a kid, too."

"Ah, so you like beastly power dynamics? I see... I see..."

"D-Do not! Stop saying it like you'll use it against me in the future..."

"Oh, but I *do* wish to use it in the future. Remember, I'm gonna be your fat Queen, I wanna know everything about my most loyal subject...!" Maggie boops Cera's nose, and he feels red.

"Wait, are we doing this right now?"

"Nah, we don't have to if you don't want. Taking it slow sounds smart, like you said. Plus? I wanna feel that sense of growth. I don't know how to eat and increase my capacity, so I wanna learn from the greatest~! Maybe that's why I ask."

"Oh, I mean... Growing up, my neighborhood was really into sports, and I actually got really good at athletics when I was a kid too. I got good at track, and then I had my accident... I guess that counts for having a strong appetite"

"Accident?" Maggie's heart sunk at the word given the context. "What happened?"

"I... I broke my leg before a competition, and my team was let down as the other team won against the remaining athletes. Y-yeah! And... morale was too low, and they clinched the win against our backup."

Maggie gulped. "That sounds terrible. Do you... wanna talk about what happened after that? You don't have to if you don't want, remember."

"Well, I was shamed out of the team for being why morale was low, and I never returned. I really started gaining around high-school, but by then I already moved out. It was like I lived a completely different life..." It was here Cera sounded distraught.

"And that's how you get where you are?"

"More or less. I gave into a tech-focused lifestyle, and began to love being on my computer 24/7. I worked and did school there as much as I could, and before long I ballooned. I got my implant so I could survive it, to be honest."

Cera seemed genuinely very sad. He was torn up thinking about it, but was practically traumadumping to this semi-stranger! Then again, semi-stranger who was taking it slow with him.

"Ooh. I see..." Maggie realized this was a sore subject, and decided to pivot. "I did all kinds of sports, track was one of them. But what matters is you survived through it all, yea?"

"Please don't pity me. I... I don't want that. I *do* wanna change, though."

"Oh. I'm... Sorry."

Maggie ruminates on this for a moment, then looks up again. "Change, though? Like, losing the weight?"

"It'd be nice to be honest. I've plateaued, but doing anything is really hard because of all my rolls." Cera laughed. "They're really cute, yea, but it'd be even cuter if there was some kind of swap going on in our dynamic!"

"How so?" Maggie opened her eyes, curious as to what he meant.

"Like, you gain weight because it's what you want, and I lose weight so I can do what I want more."

"Oh! I never thought about that! That... that sounds really cute, to be honest."

Maggie goes up to Cera and begins running her finger along his curves, tracing them lightly.

"Hey, I'm ticklish!" Cera swatted her off.

"Okay, okay! I just... I like the idea of me being your coach, and giving into the urges... forcing you to feed me..." Maggie continued tracing, albeit not making contact. "Once I get you in shape and losing the weight, the tables will turn. You'll get to reap the rewards of your labor by having a monster of a girlfriend able to smother you, as your master. You like that?"

Cera smiled like a nerd, nervously sweating. "...You have no idea how bad I want this." It was clear that this made Cera very horny to the thought.

"Pervert. Or... you don't mind the F word, do you?"

"Y-you wanna call me your fa*ggot?"

"Woah, I see! Is that a yes?"

Cera scooted back towards the couch, almost shrinking himself. "Y-Yes..."

"What's that, fat boy? Speak up." Maggie crawled in on Cera, each enjoying the chase as he can't go back further due to his tail.

"Y-yes please...!"

Maggie reaches in, fitting her hand under his fat stomach and feeling for a fat, sweaty and overgrown cl*t. "Hell yeah, fa*ggot. You're my boy toy maggot, and you're so cutely handsome when you squirm for me~!" She had no idea where she was feeling for, but it did something alright.

"H-Hoah! Wait...! Woah...! Th-that feels...!"

Maggie saw his face wretch, and she wiggled it harder, feeling for a G-spot. "Tell me how bad you want it, fa*ggot!"

"N-no, Maggie, stop! That hurts..."

"Oh sh*t! I'm so sorry." Maggie removes the hand and sits back, a wave of guilt over her.

"It's cool, I'm just sensitive. Please be careful, there." Cera himself wasn't quite sure how things changed so fast...

Cera stayed silent for a moment, a pensive look on his face as his closed eyes squinted in pain. She did this, didn't she? Too strong for her own good, as always. Never can be gentle, bad girl...

Maggie put her hands over her mouth, then her face. "f*ck! I didn't even ask if that was okay. I can't take this slow, I need to control my urges. I'm so sorry, Cera!" Maggie suddenly felt tears well up.

Cera, noticing this, gritted his teeth and turned, his hands clutched from the soreness of it. "N-no! You didn't know, and I never said it... *sic*, I just... I didn't say no either, I wasn't lying when I said I wanted it... I'm a virgin, so I'm very sensitive."

It made sense when he put it like that, but that didn't change how Maggie felt.

She went over and hugged him, trying not to squeeze him, but hold him. It was a test of self control, and right now she was winning. She held the embrace, and before long Cera joins in. "Hey, Mag, I'm glad we did this. I had a good time. I still got to learn a lot about you, right?"

Maggie looks back up with misty eyes and more ruined mascara, noticing the clock in her peripheral now reading 00:14 IST, past midnight. "R-right... I take it you need to go home?"

"I do. But next we meet, let's get our journeys started. I'm really looking forward to this!"

Maggie smiled through the tears. "Y-yea... thank you so much Cera." Letting go, Maggie gets up and stretches. She looks down at Cera sadly. "I-I'll help clean up, and get dressed. You take it easy, okay?"

Cera gets up, albeit slower. "No, I'll help. It'll be my first step."

They smiled together, now. Maggie holds his hand and helps him up. "Okay."

Chapter 4: Impact

Chapter Text

It had been not even a few days before Cera made time to visit Maggie again. Maggie and Cera were going regularly to Forge, and Cera lost 5 pounds. Not much in the scheme of things, but very promising considering he almost breaks all the equipment he uses.

Meanwhile, here Maggie was. The dinner dates were regular, and Cera and her liked to sample various ethnic restaurants around Sector 5 for their pleasure. They went to a really nice steakhouse one day, and Maggie finished a whole steak. Maggie had to push herself each time to keep from throwing up, with varying levels of success. However, with advice from Cera, by the time she found herself where she was, she herself had put on 5 pounds.

Her abs were no long visible, and her tummy had a bit of paunch. Aside from that, nothing much.

Cera and Maggie were eating what seemed to be two Deluxe meals (Deluxe burger, large fries, large drinks), two large concretes (Maggie got cookies and cream and Cera rocky road), and two monster cookies.

Maggie fought to fit the burger in her mouth, and was pushed by Cera to use her fingers instead of silverware ("like a weirdo"). Maggie used far too many napkins, and realized soon thst if she was going to go in, she had to stop eating like she's in her 50s.

Maggie wore a grey crop top with a gold star on it and black jorts. She wore nice socks and some tall boots, now out of her workout fit, and even got brave today and put some nets and fingerless gloves over her arms.

Needless to say, Cera couldn't do the same. It was an XXL band T-shirt worn lik a croptop, and Cera's XXL shorts looked like Bootyshorts. It wasn't much, but it made do.

Today, Maggie weighed herself and saw she was up 4 more pounds since she last weighed. That meant a solid 126, up from her starting 115. She smiled as she looked herself in the mirror. It wasn't much, but it was something.

She came back out to Cera to break the news and return to their binge session of Dragon Ball when she noticed Cera was on the phone.

"What do you mean? You said rent was paid for, right? What did you do with the money?"

...

"That's... no! You lost it, you get it back. That's how it works." Cera was visibly upset.

...

"No! You keep asking me... sure, the answer's always yes, but this one's on you!"

"Cera?"

Cera put the phone down from his ear and looked at Maggie. "Sorry, a minute please."

"Oh... Okay." Maggie steps back, then turns around and heads for the bathroom again.

What was Cera talking about? Money? And rent... his housemate?

Maggie didn't want to be nosy and knew it was important, but the walls were too thin. She didn't turn the bathroom vent fan on for noise, though... she just closed the door and stood.

"No dude, no! I know you spent it! I knew it was odd because rent's not due until the end of the moonphase! That's why you have that nice new collectible, yea?"

...

"You can't say you didn't do it! I know you're lying!"

Maggie started grinding her teeth unconsciously. She shouldn't be doing this.

"What?! You can't do that, I signed the lease! You're just as responsible as I am, we're supposed to be a team here dude!"

...

...?!

"f*ck you too! Leave me the hell alone, I'm not letting you-"

Cera can be heard struggling to get up.

Maggie can't help it. She opens the door.

Cera looks Maggie dead in the eyes. He looks like crying, but it was even worse than just hearing it.

"N-no... he hung up..."

"Cera, what happened?" Maggie quietly and slowly spoke, but held the same anxiety as before.

"You heard the whole thing, didn't you? I know you did..." Cera sounded like he passed a breaking point.

"I-I did, but-"

"I told you to leave me be! Don't get involved with me, I'm just trouble...!" Cera gets up, shouting as he waddled to the door.

"Cera, wait! I'm sorry!" However, Cera kept walking. He opened the door and slammed it shut. Sobbing can be heard as he walks.

Maggie couldn't muster the heart to follow after, she simply sulked. She fell onto her couch, then began sobbing. She cried her heart out, afraid she did something wrong.

---

Evening comes, and Maggie had yet to get a text to or from Cera. Maggie ruminated over the events of earlier, playing it out scene by scene. She looked for spots to blame herself, and revelled in the places she did.

Maggie wanted to text Cera back, but didn't have the heart. She looked at her phone, she didn't even have the motivation to text her friends... she masturbat*d to rid herself of the stress, but the post-nut clarity only made it worse.

It was as she was getting a bag of popcorn that she heard the blip on her phone. It was Cera. He texted her SMS, not over Discord.

Cera: Maggie, I'm so so so so sorry. Please respond.

Maggie didn't know what to do, but felt it was right to say at least something.

Maggie: I'm sorry too. I'm a filthy eavesdropper. I'm bad for you.

Cera: That's not true, Maggie. I reacted badly, and now I'm in a mess for it
Cera: You deserve to know, too

Maggie felt she knew what he referred to, but waited for him to continue.

Cera: My housemate doesn't have a job, he has a lot in common with me and we've known each other since HS
Cera: I thought he was chill, but he asks for money always. I thought maybe he was using me, now I know.

Yep, she feared this.

Maggie: I'm so sorry to hear about that Cera...
Maggie: Are you two okay? Are you home rn?

Cera: I am. He left, I can't reach him anywhere. But... he texted me and told me he's going to tell everyone about me and my kink to my workplace...

Maggie: The f*ck? How does he know???

Cera: We... we used to date, but he broke it off when he realized he wasn't capable of holding up his part.
Cera: We both were chill about it, but he was never into what I liked.
Cera: He would still jokingly call me a dyke and other names we used because it was before I transitioned, but he didn't stop after I asked him to.
Cera: I've never seen this side of him... he owes me and I don't know what to do.

Maggie freaked out. What COULD he do?
She thought on it, then responded.

Maggie: Have you had inklings that he was this toxic in the past?
Cera: I didn't find out until recently, but back in HS he was forceful towards girls. He was a bully who had nerdy tendencies...
Cera: But he one day crept into the women's locket room and took pictures of a girl changing.
Cera: He apparently blackmailed them, but she caved into his financial demands, so nobody heard about it until she DM'ed me on Spacebook one day.

Maggie: holy sh*t, that's a MAJOR red flag. How long ago was this?

Cera: Last week

Maggie put her hand over her mouth. She was soaking up the drama, just as she asked, but she had no idea this happened.

Cera: I got really mad. I confronted him, but he brushed me off and said he changed, that he learned his lesson.
Cera: I haven't felt safe since. I can't believe this is happening to me.

Maggie's emotions overflowed with rage. She knew what she had to do.

Maggie: Where the f*ck do I find him.

Cera: What?

Maggie: Where is he.

Cera: I haven't checked if he turned on his life360 again, I don't think he has since the call, why?

Maggie: Where does he like to go.

Cera: Maggie, you're not going to do anything rash, are you?

Maggie: Where. Does. He. Go.

Cera: He... he frequents an internet café on the far side of Section 5's red light district because of the maids. It's called Heavensent.
Cera: Seriously, Maggie. Don't do anything rash. I'll go there now, just don't do anything you'll regret.
Cera: I live closer to there then you do, I got this. Please, Maggie.

Maggie didn't care anymore. Yes it was late, yes she was making popcorn and yes she had to change into her gym clothes. She was leaving.

Cera: Maggie? Maggie?????
Cera: f*ck me, please don't do this. Please...

---

The red light district... easily the scummiest place in all of Sector 5. The place crawled with androids and barkers all along main street... and right where Maggie had to go.

"Hey there! Can I interest you in-" shoved out of the way.

"What's up, cutie? Lookin' to-" hand on their face, forceless.

Maggie finally arrives at Heavensent. It was a maid café themed around angels and heaven. All the dresses are like little cupids, and the menu hosted items and promotions involving angel food cake and treats that are 'to die for.'

Entering, Maggie already finds Cera standing in front of a table with a rotund glasses-wearing greywolf, who is chewing him out.

Maggie marches right past the reservation desk as surely Cera had to have, all the maids looking on and not stopping the fuming goat.

"Woah, what the hell?" The greywolf makes eye contact with her, as does Cera who goes wide-eyed.

"Maggie!" Cera got in the way of him, using his body as a shield of sorts.

"Move, Cera. He hurt you, and now I gotta hurt him." Her voice was toneless, yet powerful.

"I won't let you! Violence isn't the answer, Maggie!"

"The f*ck is goin' on? Cera, what's goin' on?!" He stood up, feeling threatened.

One of the android maids walks up, speaking out and getting all their attention.

"Excuse me, no fighting in the café! Any violent action will result in-"

"YOU STAY OUTTA THIS!" Maggie pointed, a vigorous, venomous gut-curdling roar erupting with it.

Maggie steps around Cera, but Cera grabs the collar of her shirt and holds her back.
"Maggie, stop! You're scaring me!"

"What's your deal?! Get the hell away from me, freak!" This only lit Maggie's fire faster.

Finally, the sound of a new strong voice cuts them all of.

"HEY! The f*ck are you all on about, here?!" A new woman in a suit and tie walks out, cracking her knuckles. A massive silver malamute with suspenders, about Cera's size but all muscle. And she was coming right for Maggie.

Maggie turns, realizing what was going on suddenly. "sh*t... are you the manager?!"

"Mind telling me what the f*ck you're doing in my café? Can't you tell this is a place of peace and quiet?!" She latches onto Maggie personally, Cera backing off.

"I can explain...!" Maggie couldn't escape, only struggle. It was here she realized the truth:

She was the bad guy here, wasn't she?

"Maggie's right, it's not her fault! If you give us some time to explain, we can-"

"Spit it out, then. Tell me why I shouldn't kick this goat's unruly ass to the curb."

Maggie realized that saying what she had to say meant saying it right to the housemates face... but it was now or never.

"This... this guy, my boyfriend's housemate... he's... he's blackmailing my boyfriend for money!"

"What? That's not true! This person just barged in, set to kill me!"

"She didn't say kill, Alan! She just said she would hurt you."

"Still!" He whelped, in a high pitch voice, clearly scared for his life regardless.

"Blackmail how? And just for money? I know a thing or two about crime - so spit it out, I said. All of it." Her hand tightened around Maggie's throat, pailing in comparison Maggie's own strength.

But... saying this would risk publicly outing Cera and Alan's drama! And what about Maggie, or the kink? sh*t, decisions decisions!

"My... M-my boyfriend. H-his dirty secrets... he was gonna sell her out, like that girl in high-school! I didn't want that for her, so I... I lost my cool. I'm sorry, really!"

"Dirty how. Spit it out, girlie. I won't say it again."

"Please, don't do this to Maggie. Don't do this to me!"

Alan shuffles anxiously, shocked Maggie had the guts to say this to the manager. "I-its not true! I would never-"

The manager snaps at him and points. "Stay outta this. I wanna hear it from the goat's mouth, not yours."

She turns back to Maggie, staring her in the windows of her soul. Maggie gulped to a dry throat.

"My... my partner and I like fat people. Really fat people. He knew it for Cera, and was gonna sell him out to his employer. He s-spent rent on something else, and demanded another payment or else he would sell her out."

"Maggie...!" Cera was clearly disappointed, but also extremely embarrassed, as all the maids around here were watching on silently.

"Is that so? Makes sense, but I think I get the gist. Thanks for explaining." The boss let's go of Maggie, catching her breath and running to Cera, holding onto her and looking at the boss anxiously on the verge of tears.

Finally, the boss turns to Alan, cracking her knuckles. "So, what's this about blackmail in high-school? A little young to be a crook, yea? Or is it genetic?"

Alan sweats bullets, looking angrily at Maggie. "That bitch is lying! She didn't prove anything, it's circ*mstancial! I don't have to prove sh*t!"

"Sounds like she's onto something, though. I'm sure you wouldn't mind I look through your phone's texts and gallery if that's the case, then?"

Alan shakes his head furiously. "Stay the hell away from me! Don't touch my phone, that's an invasion of privacy and unlawful! I-I want a lawyer!"

"When you're on my property, you're under my rules. And don't think I don't recognize your face around here, fat boy. Now cough up the phone, unless you really are as guilty as she said?"

Maggie held on tighter to Cera, she looks away. "I-I can't take it, I'm so sorry Cera!"

"I-It's g-gonna be okay, M-Maggie...! Just... stay close to me."

The manager grapples the angry and flailing Alan, ripping his phone from his pocket and holding it to his face for authentication. He tries to look away, but it's not enough.

The manager pins him down and scrolls through texts and images, making faces that indicate disgust or disdain.

"You are one sick motherf*cker. I don't wanna see you around these parts again, okay?" She crushes the phone with her bare hands, and tosses him to the ground.

"Ough-! Ack... Ow, ow ow ow! Fuuuck!" He rolls, writhing in pain. Maggie winces and flinches at his thud against the floor, audible and resounding.

The manager looks at the maids, speaking to them as a group. "Ladies, take him outside. Take his wallet and call the authorities, tell them he dined and dashed. I'm not letting this asshole off my hands."

"B-but you just crushed his phone! What about the evidence?" Cera spoke, spooked and praying they forgot about the embarrassing truth.

"The cops around here know me, they'll listen. Plus it won't matter the charges, he's a guilty soul either way. I won't trouble you with the full details, seems like you got a lot on your hands with him."

Alan seems dazed, in too much pain to register the going-ons. The boss, Maggie and Cera all glance at him as the maids scoop him off the ground and carry him outside. It requires two of them to hold his weight, and one is already on their way to a phone booth outside.

The boss looks at Maggie this time and smiles. "Sorry I gave you a hard time. The name's Quinn, you two ought to stay here while we take care of him. Get anything on the menu you like, our treat." She flashes a toothy grin and gives a thumbs up, laughing with a gravelly deep luster. "I'll send over the biggest lady in the house, there's no judging here. It's a safe space, like I said."

Maggie feels the stress melt ever-so-slightly, but Cera still remain speechless. Maggie turns to Cera, then takes his hand. "Cera, let's find a seat. Maybe... maybe this can be our date for the night!" She tries to sound positive, but only comes off shakey.

"Yeah... let's." Cera is led by Maggie to a table, being supported by her.

The sound of shouting and a siren blares outside, but this was a safe space. And they were finally safe.

Cera weeps, and Maggie holds her.

---

A box of tissues arrives with what looks to be a hearty feast of divine delicacies, and two alcoholic beverages made to look like ambrosia with slices of mango over the glass with the topper.

"Woah, this is a lot. I... I still can't believe they're doing this for us." Maggie speaks, getting a light look from Cera.

Cera lightly laughs, "Hey, it's what you deserve for sticking up for me. If you didn't arrive, I dunno what would've happened."

"What? Don't thank me, your housemate just got arrested! What about you? You come first, honey."

"I know, but... I dunno." Cera pokes at a plate, hungry but uncertain. "I just regret what happened earlier. I shouldn't have walked out on you this morning..."

"Well I shouldn't have gotten angry at you. These things happen dear, and we can't change them, so all we can do is forgive ourselves and be grateful we're here now."

Maggie puts a hand on Cera's shoulder and kisses his cheek. Cera smiles and wriggles, and Maggie speaks. "So, do you, uh... wanna eat? Or you wanna talk about him more?"

"It's good, Maggie. I appreciate it, I'm so glad I have you... but yes, let's eat first, then we can chat. On our own time, I mean." Maggie nods, and Cera smiles more.

"Besides, this'll be a great chance for me to bulk up, yea? Just gimme what you don't want, I'm no picky eater after all." Maggie smiles her uneven toothy grin, unashamed to speak her mind in public or express herself now.

They were in the Seraphim Suite, the VIP lounge where there were nice TVs and marble/false ivy decorations as well as mood lighting and a diffuser constantly emitting the scent of grapes.

The maid, a portly falcon-girl android, walks up. She was the one selected for them, and very clearly the largest girl in the café by a long shot. She seemed really happy, as she apparently wasn't requested as often as the others. She watched as Cera and Maggie watched Quinn fend off Alan, and seemed to get lost in thought when around them.

This comes to a head when she simply stood by awkwardly as Cera and Maggie each ate their angel-hair pasta platters. Maggie looks over at her and speaks. "Hey, you good over there?"

The android snaps back to reality, smiling and clearly caught off guard. "No, no! I'm fine. Please disregard me, I'm but a humble android." She was rather chatty for an android... had lots of personality, too. She was clearly very different.

Maggie looks at Cera, then back at her. "So, uh... you just gonna watch us eat? Do you want, like... us to request you to do something?" Maggie smirks nervously, laughing off her staring. "I-I've never properly been to a maid café, so I don't really know the etiquette, sorry!"

"No! That's absolutely okay! If you'd like, I can get you refills on your food and drink."

"Wait... really? We can't take any of this home, can we? And we've already eaten so much. Are... are you sure?" Even Cera was baffled. "Normally cafés like this have a hard limit before you have to tell patrons to stop, because it's unprofitable and all that. I-I would know, naturally, haha..." Cera tried to laugh it off, patting his stomach.

The android turns red as he does this, laughing too. Cera turns to Maggie, and whispers. "Is she... y'know..."

In what was probably the dumbest move of the day, Maggie pops the question. "How did they break it to you that they wanted ya over here? I didn't see anyone talk to you, you just stared at us."

The android stares nervously. Was she programmed to act like this? Normally they have more self control than this.

"Oh no... did you hear what Maggie said to Quinn? Did ALL of you hear that???" Cera became very anxious, but the bird chirps up.

"I heard it all. I... I know what you're on about. Truth is... haha, well... I'm not actually an android." The bird shrugs her shoulders and does a cute pose.

"...You're not? What's that have to do with this?" Maggie co*cks her head, and looks at Cera. "Sorry, not exactly acquainted with advanced personality AI like some pilots, mind translating for me? Sorry." Cera shrugs.

The girl speaks up once more. "It means I've undergone so many body mods that I can't be differentiated from an android. I actually have a brain, and I like to blend in. I'm kind of a weird girl, aren't I?"

The two turn back to the girl, taken aback at the admission just now. Cera's eyes go wide. "Woah, wait... so you're actually not a robot? But isn't that like... like how advanced enough science is indistinguishable from magic?"

"What?" Maggie is even more confused, but Cera gladly explains.

"No, like, imagine... she's like The Ship of Theseus! And maybe only androids are employed here because they're cheap. I guess that's what makes it weird." Cera turns to the girl again, with a new question. "You didn't really answer us earlier, but this only complicates things. Do you... actually like doing this for free, or low pay or whatever? Making food for people and serving them, being cute Ms. Robot Lady? Actually, wait that's not your name. You're... uh..." Cera was going a mile a minute.

The bird steps back, unsure of why this was suddenly about her. "Um... M-my name's actually Anatoli, but y-yea, since lots of... workers lost their jobs to androids, it meant that there was a sharp skyrocket in free... labor, so to speak. I-I-I just... I didn't wanna lose my job, so I adapted was all! A-and I like the freedom to do what I want with my body."

"Woah, hell yeah sister! That sounds like it rocks! Good for you!" Maggie pipes up, somehow motivated by the story. "I have mad respect for people who do this kinda thing, especially because of the android takeover of your native labor. I just hope what you did makes you happy, y'know?"

"What do you mean by 'happy'?" Anatoli turned her head to the side. Lots of that today, it seemed.

"You didn't do all that to your body out of obligation, did you? You must've stuck to your work because it's what you live for!"

Anatoli is extremely put off by this. "That's... that's not true at all. I'm doing this because it's all I'm good at. I have to pick up so many jobs just to stay afloat... I dug myself this hole, so I have to lie in it."

"Oh." Maggie shut up instantly. She looked around, then at Cera, as if begging for help here.

"Aha, um... Anatoli, right? Okay if I call you Ana, or Annie? You... you find a crowd, don't you? Have a group of people you belong to?" Cera breaks the ice, and continues to eat mindlessly between sentences.

"I... I guess? All the girls here are nice. They don't judge me, but they don't really know better. It's kinda dull and lonely, it feels bad to be replaced and not wanted."

"Oh... I mean, we know the feeling. Alan was the same way, too. Your feelings are 100% valid! But the fact is, there will always be someone out there who loves you for you, yea?" Maggie pulls this from the heart.

"You think so? ...Why?" Anatoli stares sadly at them. "I'm a whor*, I discarded my flesh and my humanity for the false hope of a better future. I don't belong anywhere."

"Hey, stop that talk right now. Maggie's got a point, girl. You like big bods just like us, yea? You can be whoever you want! She meant it when she said there would always be someone out there for you, because it's true."

"Th-thank you..." Anatoli looked like she could cry, if it were not for her literally glassy eyes.

After a bit, Quinn re-enters and finds her way to the Seraphim Suite. "Another pest taken care of. So! How you two enjoying your night?" She wanders up to the table, Maggie and Cera clearly having pigged out (but apparently not remark-worthy enough).

"Oh, good! For a themed café, you have a fantastic variety. It must've taken someone really creative to put it together." Maggie smiles, slurping up noodles and talking with full, puffy cheeks.

"Bahaha! I'm glad to hear it. Despite the workforce, you can't replace the human element, yea?" Quinn turns to Anatoli, who was making a side face, and changing her own tone in turn. "Hey, everything good?"

"N-no! I'm a humble android. I'm... I'm fine!" Anatoli, in fact, was not fine.

"Hey, you explain to these girls your circ*mstances?" Quinn turned to Maggie and Cera eating, both nodding in turn. Her face goes wide. "Aha, hit it off I see! Hey, lighten up, I'm here for you, you know that?"

Maggie finishes her bite and swallows, looking at Quinn. "She said she has to work multiple jobs. If you know her circ*mstances, why wouldn't you just pay her more?"

Anatoli looks at them, clearly spiteful and upset. "Apparently the girls here aren't stupid. Being connected to the digital servers for payment and menu-listings means having access to confidential information, whether we like it or not. Quinn said she would, but she doesn't want a Class-IX situation occurring. Sector 9 is evidence of that, being its namesake and all."

"Sector 9 is also the icon of mismanagement and corporate greed. They knew what they were doing, and they got what was coming. If anything, being towards the Milky-Way's Edge meant that it was more predisposed to crime than even Sector 1. But we all know how that goes." Cera was flexing her knowledge, as if the complex words would motivate Anatoli. "Quinn seems better than that. I bet there's a way you could figure something out."

Quinn's face goes dark. "Yea, it's a f*cked up world we live in. But with the price of doing business these days, paying for Intergalactic import tax and real-estate fees, it's what we're forced to do to make ends meet. It just happens to be convenient, too. Personally, I blame Icarus."

Maggie lights up at the name, shocked after having not heard this before. "Woah, what? What did Icarus do?" Cera made a concerned face, looking away like a guilty puppy.

"Don't know, little billygoat? Icarus might be the Milky-Way's #1 Intergalactic Supply Networker, but it's also a monopoly. And when you're a monopoly, you exert control. Every quarter is an expectation for growth, GDP to rise... Business is a sticky world, and androids were the natural conclusion of the AI Arms Race 1000 years ago. It just so happens that they've advanced, and now Icarus is the lead donor to Halycon Robotics, where Androids come from in Sector 2." Quinn explains what was probably the biggest culture shock of Maggie's life.

"Woah, what?! Cera, did you know about this?" Maggie's eyes bugged out, having no idea this even happened.

"More or less, she's right. Though, many of the details are highly debated and theoretical, they just happen to have circ*mstancial evidence that gives it plausible deniability." Cera didn't like admitting it, clearly, but realizes what was right to say afterwards. "O-oh, though I'm not involved or an insider! I'm just an engineer, that's all."

"You're an engineer at Icarus? Do you, like... work on Androids?" Anatoli leans forward, curious about the details.

"Oh, software engineer! Though, I'm familiar with ship personality cores, they run on the same OS, just have different quirks for different purposes. Sadly, I'm not too familiar with the add-ons themselves, sorry Annie."

"Hah, she called you Annie! You really are friends!" Quinn slaps her knees, and Anatoli can't help but smile. "Tell you what, you kids are always welcome here. My treat! You get the Deluxe treatment, it's not every day we get honest people around here. Just perverts and sweaty losers like that Alan fellow."

Cera chuckles, and falsely flexes his arm. "Oh, but you forget? I'm a sweaty, perverted weirdo. Thats why he blackmailed me, remember?" Well, at least he was able to joke about it.

"Truer than true! I do admit, I have my quirks too, but that's only for the man of my life to know. Let's just say... we like it rough." Quinn cracks her knuckles, the musclebutt...

"Chains and whips. Got it." Maggie clicks a pen in her jacket as she says this, as if ready for a bill that would never come.

"Shut up, you! Or I'll choke you again." Quinn goes red, clearly flustered.

"Hey, takes a freak to know one! Besides, if it were false, you wouldn't be so flustered. And you know, I happen to like being choked as long as it's not threatening my life."

"Damn, spicy girl! Never took you for an exhibitionist, Mag!" Cera elbows Maggie.

"Shut up!" Maggie retorts.

The rest of the night goes swimmingly, Quinn and Annie sharing drinks with Maggie and Cera, sending them home with leftovers and each of their contact info.

Maggie couldn't help but feel happy. She made two new friends today, AND disposed of Cera's evil ex! While things were unsure for Cera's housing situation, Maggie would be there for him, and Quinn would keep him updated on Alan's legal situation, however that was possible.

Meanwhile, Anatoli actually revealed that one of her gigs was the laundry job at Maggie's block, meaning next time she has to send them, Annie would try to get assigned to her place. It was the perfect fit!

And this isn't all to say Maggie didn't gain anything today, either. In fact? Maggie's stomach looked as though she were never a gymgoer, back at square one. The light contour outward vaguely resembled what was once her abs, and she couldn't help but feel extremely turned on by it. It was the first of many steps, and if this free food carried on at Heavensent, then she had a promising future as a feedee.

Chapter 5: Stomachache

Chapter Text

The next week passed again as rent was paid for the next month, and Maggie got her good fill of friend time and work.

Anatoli was a completely different girl outside of work (or at least the café), as the moment she saw Maggie she immediately embraced her and showered her with praise and thanks.

Maggie was unsure of what to do, but was receptive and kind, even if she had to turn down her pushy invitation to hang out for gym plans with Cera.

So imagine Maggie's shock when she arrives at the gym and finds Anatoli followed her the whole way, gym clothes and all. It made things awkward, but Cera and Maggie let her in as the third wheel.

As for the gym workouts, it was clear that Cera was improving. His speed and motivation sharply rose even if his appetite (and size) fought it. However, from where he started, his weight was down 20 pounds! It wasn't much, and not necessarily visibly noticable yet, but it was a start.

That said, the new lifestyle and cheat day schedule (now with more cheat days than on-days) had taken a toll on Maggie. She realized soon that she was fighting to gather the energy she once had, though the muscle mass was still mostly present. She found herself needing to catch her breath a lot, and began drinking extra water to keep off lightheadedness from the extra sweating... if the water weight didn't get to her first, that is.

Though even if Cera's loss wasn't easily as noticed, it was motivated by Maggie's words moreso as time went on. Maggie began using her breath to cheer him on when she was going light for her own sake, and the results were steadily showing.

Maggie's body for sure suffered from the regular Heavensent dinner dates, though. Quinn one night betted that Maggie couldn't eat a large 'Blooming Ophanim Onion' platter (which did, in fact, aim to be biblically accurate). Yet, despite everything, Maggie said she still had room for some drinks to celebrate!

That night, Cera took a wasted Maggie home and splayed her on her bed, promising to stay until she fell asleep.
Maggie, of course, felt brimming. Her stomach was not just flat and slightly poking out, tonight it was a bit hump-like. Maggie played with her fat tummy, massaging it and drooling.

"I wuv you, Sewah..." Maggie was very nasaly sounding for some reason, though maybe she was putting on a voice. She looked over at Cera, who turned out the lights and went to the door.

"I wuv you too, billygoat~!" Cera picked that one up from Quinn. They both really liked it.

---

A few days later, and things were more or less alright. Maggie returns to her complex from her latest gym trip, that is, until she notices that something quite odd has happened.

Her apartment was already unlocked and left ajar! Did she leave it unlocked? Did someone break in?! Both??!?

She stormed in only to find Anatoli in the middle of room service, though it was odd to find her leaving the door ajar like that.

"Annie, you forgot to close the front door. You about gave me a heart attack!" Maggie was indeed a little perturbed at how Annie shoe-horned herself into Maggie's life, but never refused the unscheduled free cleanings if it meant she didn't have to do them (or pay). Anatoli was desperate for connection, and that was 'payment enough for her' so she says.

"Oh, that wasn't me. A pal of yours is here, said he was here to 'check out his buddy's BF,' but was disappointed that you and him weren't here."

"Uhh, what? Is he even still here? Or... wait... who even are you-"

"Sup Mag." Felix spoke right into Mag's ear, having appeared from the ether.

"JESUS!" Maggie shoves Felix, fuming. "What the hell are you doing here? Annie, did you just let him in?!?"

"Actually, now that you mention it, I didn't really verify to see whether he was even lying about knowing you or not. Sorry, I won't let it happen again." Anatoli shrugs.

"Woah, chill, Mag! It's just me! I wanted to surprise you was all, how've you been? It's been a few weeks, yea?" Felix puts his arms in front of him, then up behind his head. He was clearly trying to provide a relaxed aura.

"Don't 'chill' me, dunce! You can't just put me on the spot like this, you know! You didn't even call to say you were coming or hint at it or anything!" Maggie turned around, giving him the stink-eyes and crossed arms.

"Well, I heard you have a new boyfriend from a pal of mine! Sounds like a real cutie, what's he like?" Felix walked around Maggie to meet her face only for her to turn her head. Annie, meanwhile, returns to cleaning elsewhere in the house.

"Who told you, huh? I know Spot isn't your pal, neither is Quinn or Annie here. Maybe Gwen and Sasha, I bet? But the only way that would work is if they were commenting about it on Spacebook, which would be kinda weird..." Maggie was giving him a hard time, but wasn't ready for what was next.

"Quinn? Annie? Nah, just a buddy of mine from college. He's friends with him I hear, I met him in high-school too." What? Wait...

"Who are you talking about? Anyone I would know?" Maggie suddenly is very concerned, leaning into what he said.

"What? Oh, you wouldn't know him. His name's Ala-" Enough.

Maggie puts both hands on his shirt collar and pulls him forward. "Are you f*cking kidding me? Are you KIDDING ME? ALAN? f*ckING ALAN?!?" Maggie filled with a fiery stress so hot it burned brighter than blue.

Felix suddenly became very stressed, changing his expression but not forcing her to let go. "Wh-what?! What about him? Is it about what he did? I, I know... but I was friends with him before all that! I just...!"

Maggie lets him go, and she crumples to the ground, like a puppet without strings.

Felix stepped back, unsure of what this meant. "Maggie, what's wrong? Seriously, you're scaring me. Tell me, why is me knowing him from high-school a big deal? You didn't recognize him?"

"If Alan was in high-school, and Cera was his childhood high-school friend... then it all makes sense. I did it." Maggie's voice sounded cold and hollow, toneless.

"What?" Felix was scared, just as out of context as he was.

"I broke Cera's leg. Cera grew up on Aster. He... he was there the whole time."

---

Maggie sat on the couch rolled up in a light blanket, Felix bringing over a bowl of chili he made for her to bring over for the surprise. Anatoli had long since left once she noticed things were up, and the front door was now locked tight.

"Hey, this'll help cheer you up." Felix put a big plate with some saltines under a bowl of chili, and put it all on the coffee table. The TV pops on and he takes a seat next to her with his own bowl.

"Nothing will help me right now. I don't know how to tell him. I don't know if I should tell him." Maggie sulked, her voice sore from the requiteless crying episode that followed her admission.

"Hey, we went over this when I drove you home that one day, yea? Don't beat yourself up over it! The past is behind you, we're here together now! And besides, this Cera fella loves you for who you are now, yea?" He puts his plated bowl back down on the table to elbow Maggie.

"I still can't believe it. That incident was the whole reason I got my bad rep, Felix. I was denied scholarships, and revoked my opportunity to go to a good college like you did. It literally ruined my life. I won't forgive myself that easily." Maggie didn't pick up her bowl, she only wrapped herself tighter in her blanket plus monkey-squat combo as all that poked out were her fingers and her muzzle.

Felix leans up to Maggie and pulls off her blanket from her head, revealing her perturbed glassy eyes. "Sure, sure, but consider: Maybe you're happier this way, yea? I dunno Cera today, but I'm happy you both bond over your transitions, and I can't wait to see how well he's gotten on! I was told he works at Icarus? Pretty wild stuff!"

Maggie stays silent for a moment, staring at him as her face mellowed. She then turned to the chili. It smelled really good as he heated it up earlier, but actually seeing it made her realize how hungry she was, post-workout meal or not. She gets out of her blanket and pulls up a tray table for her couch, a nice hovering stasis kind. Thanks, 31st century.

Maggie begins sipping the chili and eating dipped crackers. She swoons at the meaty broth, well done onion, peppers, kidney beans, and exquisite seasoning... the flavor hitting her tongue was like a meaty melty maestro conducting an orchestra of refined flavors. For a rich boy, he actually knew how to cook well for himself!

"This is really good, Felix. Thank you. So, what are we watching together?"

"You ever see Air Bud? Classic from around 1000ish years ago, got a sh*t ton of sequels. Some are even still coming out, I hear, though that's what we get for Androids dedicated to making exclusively sequels." He gets on the streaming page and puts on the first movie. "You ever see a dog play basketball before? Apparently it's a real dog playing Bud, too! Not an Android or CGI."

"Doesn't he canonically have a sh*t ton of puppies? Can't wait to see where this goes."

The two of them lower the lights and turn on the movie. For a bit, Maggie didn't have to think about Felix being former friends with Alan, or Cera's life path being determined by a single bad act of hers...

It was bliss. Simply bliss.

---

The movie runs for a while. Though it was laughably bad, it was endearing and in a way lifted Maggie's spirits when she suspended her disbelief. Suddenly, however, Maggie gets a call.

It's Cera. Oh f*ck.

Maggie almost drops the phone in the empty bowl of chili she was moving. She began picking up and speaking as she walks to the kitchen to not interrupt Felix, washing her dish and hands. He pauses the movie for them, realizing her panic.

"Hey Maggie! Whatcha up to right now?" Cera sounded chipper. "You up to video-call right now?"

"Oh! Hehe, hiiiii~! I, uh... I'm actually with my friend Felix right now! We're watching a movie."

"Felix, huh?" Maggie felt cold. "Well, I get it! I'm free if you want me to come over, but I just wanted to tell you some good news!"

"That is...?" Maggie quivered, anxious that somehow it would have to do with her fears.

"I just got the news that my landlord understands my situation, and we're getting Alan off the lease! He's even gonna lower my rent for the month! Isn't that great?" Cera sounded super happy, so Maggie decided to reciprocate.

"That's great, Cera! Actually, you still wanna come over? Felix brought chili!" She hesitated, realizing Cera might've already realized who she meant and was suspicious of it. "I, uh... I really can't wait to introduce you!"

"Great idea, Mag! I'll be down in a bit!" Cera hung up after the two of them told each other they loved them, and Maggie turns to Felix. He seemed eager to check in due to Maggie's panic.

"That Cera? Did I hear something about Alan? What's up with him, I haven't been able to reach him lately." To be fair, Maggie didn't really even know how the two were related, but didn't wanna get it it. And why was he asking about Alan before asking if she was okay? Whatever...

"Alan... he blackmailed Cera and threatened him. He's in jail, Felix." Maggie broke the news, now held down by understanding of a bond there.

"What? Are you f*cking kidding me? Oh sh*t... he told me he came clean since high-school, though! I thought we were bros... B-but then again, when he said he knew you because of something that happened, he wouldnt tell me what happened. He just kept calling you 'that same crazy bitch from high-school,' sorry to quote him. And after that, he kinda just... cut me off." Felix put his face in his hands, clearly ashamed of having associated with the likes of Alan. "I told him you weren't a bad person, and that you had your reasons for whatever it was, even though he wouldn't tell me what it was. But still... of course he wouldn't tell me that, the dick!" Felix was genuinely distraught, so Maggie decided now was a better time than ever to ask. Perhaps she could find some perspective to remedy this situation.

"I know, you had to be see it to believe it, but I kinda wish I didn't. I'm sorry... Though, if you don't mind me asking, how did you guys know each other? I never really messed with your friends, but in hindsight I recall someone like him at our high school..." Maggie ruminated, but offered comfort.

"He and I... we were both pretty well off. He invited me to his weekly D&D games, our friendgroup always joked that he DM'd to fulfill his 'power fantasy,' but... yeah... I wish I knew better in high-school. We both do, of course." Felix frowned.

"Ooh, yeesh... yea, I'm sorry to hear about it too. But this is all coming up because he was actually Cera's housemate. He... he kept asking him for money for expenses that weren't really happening. When Cera couldn't pay up, Alan threatened to leak explicit photos and his kinks to Icarus to jeopardize his job."

"Damn, what an asshole! I can't believe we've been hanging out for years like this. I... I don't know what I'm gonna do about this." Felix looked away, unsure of what to do now. And thankfully, he didn't push the notion of 'kinks,' though surely he could reasonably guess based on Maggie's tastes.

"You don't have to explain yourself. If anything, I hope you don't judge me and Cera for what we like! I'm sure by now you've at least... noticed something?" Maggie eyes Felix, who seemed genuinely confused.

"What? What are you... ooooooooohhhhh... wait, so you're saying Cera...? Just how did you two even meet, anyways?!" Felix can't help but laugh, leaning forward with half-serious half-joking shout. He had the 'aha' moment the second he realized Maggie put on some weight (or, at least, lost the abs).

"We met at the gym of all places. Though, Spot asked me to, well... spot him." Maggie went on, doing unnecessary hand motions to express these ideas.

Felix leaned forward, happy for Maggie and starry-eyed. He was distracted from his sad reality if not for a moment. "Uh-huh? Uh-huh? Then what?"

"...and Cera ended up getting confronted by a bunch of guys trying to harass him. So... so I broke one guy's arm." Maggie didn't sound proud of what was being said, but said it anyways.

"Woah, sh*t! I take it you two hit it off from there? And If I may ask... what were they saying to him?" Felix realized this might be touchy and slowed down accordingly, doing his best to taper his enthusiasm.

"They... made fun of his... his size. He's... well, morbidly obese. He was there because his buddies bet him to, and I bet that included Alan. So now... I'm taking him there to help him!" Maggie got embarrassed mid sentence, but decided it was right to go all out.

"Wait... Cera? Obese? You're telling me after he... he broke his leg, he quit exercising and went backwards? Ouch, I see why you felt terrible. You're probably thinking you inadvertently caused this, yea?"

"Hit the nail right on the head, man. Cera had an iron liver installed so he could eat and drink all he wants without consequence, and he said he realized his passion for computers and info-tech. I guess the biggest shock was seeing him become the opposite kind of person we him knew as when we were younger. And not just, well... the transition." Maggie found a way to put her stress into words, and Felix was taking in every second of it.

"sh*t, yeah. When we were younger, there were always rumors about why... why it happened. That you had a grudge, that you were mad and took it out on him, that he came at you first... but deep down, only we can know the truth." Felix puts his hand on Maggie's shoulder. "I won't let it bring you two down. No matter who Cera is now and no matter who you were, I'll make sure it goes well and be there for you two. You know that? And if you struggle should you choose to tell him, I'll help explain how I can. Is that okay?"

Maggie began tearing up, sniffling and getting a whif of the chili from the pot. Her stomach still growled. "Thanks, Felix. I would appreciate that. I still love you, as my best friend I mean. Thank you for putting up with me despite my flaws."

"I'm not putting up with you, Mag. I'm here for you, and I love you too! As friends, like you said." Felix hugged Maggie, and the two got back to watching more of the movie.

---

*knock, knock*

Not even 30 minutes into the movie, a knocking is heard.

"It's unlocked for you, Cera! Come in." Maggie shouts, and before long, the massive shark enters.

"Oh! Hello, who's this?" Cera pleasantly was surprised by Felix, but Felix's reaction was quite different.

"Holy sh*t, look at you! Maggie knows how to pick 'em, yea?" Felix elbows Maggie.

"Shut up." Maggie bites back.

Cera looks between Maggie and Felix, and makes a focusing face. "Do I... Do I know you? I feel like I recognize you, but from where?"

Oh no.

"Y-you might! Where from, you think?" Maggie knew what was going to happen, but hesitated to rip off the band-aid.

"I recall seeing a guy like him visit Alan. I never knew that much about him, but..." It seems Cera also hesitated. "Maybe from high-school? P-probably not, though!"

"Cera, Maggie needs to tell you something. Maggie? Go ahead." What?! Felix, no dude!

Well, actually... she DID agree, and it seems he knew Maggie was walking around it. Maybe this is good! Maybe...? But the stress made it too difficult to tell.

"I-I-I... we... well, we- um... ehehe, is it hot in here or is it just me?" Maggie couldn't do it. Her mouth was dry, her heart was racing and her head full of fire and stress.

"Maggie... be upfront with me. We've both been hiding from something, haven't we?"

"What? Wait... I-"

"No Maggie. I'm sorry to interrupt, but just listen to me please. I don't know what it is, but I've felt it too, and it's stressed me out as much as it seems to you." Cera walks up to Maggie and puts a hand on her shoulder, smiling and looking at her. "Please don't feel like you have to hide secrets from me, Maggie. I won't get mad, I promise."

Maggie felt herself boil alive, and eventually burst into tears silently. "I... I hurt you! I can't believe myself, targeting a girl...! I was the worst!"

"Woah, Mag, relax! Use your words, tell me about it. I... I promise I won't get mad. Promise." It was clearly tearing up Cera, too, but he held on barely. Felix stepped back, and Cera kneeled to get to Maggie at eye level.

"Targeting a girl like that... I was so jealous of your talent, your beauty... I'm still that same stupid child! And because of me, I threw away both our shots at success... I... I'll never forgive myself! I'm so sorry, Cera!!" Maggie bawled her eyes out, snotting and drooling as if having eaten the hottest pepper in the galaxy.

"Oh Maggie...! Oh... oh no... you don't mean-?" Cera realized what it was too, then began crying, too. "Oh my god, I never realized. I... I knew all this talk and act reminded me of something, but I never imagined... oh god..."

"Maggie's a good girl, though. She's my Ex like Alan was yours. But, uh... we're still chill, and I do good on Maggie. I was just worried that the second I realized all of this I wouldn't be able to help. I-I know it's not my business, but..." Felix knew his place and stepped back again.

"No, you're right. It's... it's not easy to say it, but... It's okay Maggie, Felix and I are here for you. We... we're in it together! And... I forgive you. I cried so many times about it, too, but I'm still here. We are. And we won't let those thoughts hurt each other. I just want you to be honest with me in the future, okay dear?" Cera spoke to Maggie in her ear, soft and in that feminine voice.

"My god... it really is you... I remember you screaming...! Why can't I let this go, Cera? Why can't I move on, like you have?" Maggie looked Cera in the eyes, hardly seeing him through her tears.

"I'm not over it. But that doesn't mean you have to beat yourself up over it. I... I'm here with you, and I know you're here with me. So... can you forgive yourself?" Cera whispered delicately to Maggie, holding her close as she cried until she was dry.

"I... I love you Cera! I won't ever let myself hurt you again. That's why... that's why I've felt so bad this entire time." Maggie buries her face with Cera's shoulder.

"It was the day I met you... you broke that guy's arm, it really reminded me of that day. I... had an inkling since then. And that day I explained my childhood circ*mstances, I could tell you felt off too. I just wanted to find out for myself, and now I know."

"Why... why don't you hate me, Cera?! I threw away both our lives because I was stupid, and your whole life changed forever. I'm responsible for all of this!"

"Hey, hey! Maggie, listen to me Maggie. While that may be the case, maybe it was for the best? I'm happier now than I was when I was doing sports because I found what I was passionate for as an internet denizen. That, and I found out my gender identity! Did that end up being why you did it, too?"

"I wanted to run away, Cera. Run away from who I was and who I was ashamed to be. I stay away from Aster because I feel like a disgrace to the town. I just... I can't believe you were there this whole time!"

"Hey, you wanna go there again some day?" Cera segways from the sad subject to a more lighthearted proposition, letting go of Maggie and meeting her eyes.

"What?" Maggie was confused, but afraid.

"One of these days, let's go to Aster! You, me, and maybe Felix there! I've yet to meet really him, though, hehe." Cera smiles, and in turn Maggie does too. Felix was glad he was here to witness this, it was like he knew just the kind of person Cera was; A sweetheart, and a perfect match for Maggie, no matter their rough patches.

"Okay, Cera. Thank you, I love you." Maggie sheds another tear. She's been doing that a lot these last few weeks, yea?

Then, suddenly, a strange sound errupts. It was like an earthquake, but also like the rolling of waves.

"Holy sh*t, what was that?" Felix speaks, looking over from the kitchen where he stirred the pot.

"That was me, sorry. But... is that chili I smell? It smells really good! I'm starving." Cera speaks embarassedly, pivoting faster than you can say 'Cookiecutter Shark.'

"Guess it makes sense, you must be the one rubbing off on Maggie here! fat*ss..." Felix laughs to lighten the mood a bit. "But for real though, was that an element you two discussed behind my back? Always knew Mag was a bit of a chaser."

"f*ck you! Yes, it was an element, but th-that's besides the point!" Maggie turned to Cera and looked off. "Let's just... let's get you some chili already. You said you were starving, only right I suppose."

"Now you're speaking my language."

---

Felix finishes washing his dish and walking over to the ravenous duo, Maggie of which is forcing down seconds. Cera compensated by having a large bowl, which was probably worth two anyways.

"So, yea... Maggie and I are exes. I know everything about her! After that display, I take it that you two must be the perfect pair. And that common... 'passion' of yours? That's one of the many reasons why I support you two, even if I myself am not into it." Felix came from a place of humble respect (and also the kitchen).

He brings over a entire pot and puts it on the coffee table with a fitting hotrag underneath so as to not damage the wood. Cera smiles and sits down, smiling even more after having scooped himself more. "Yea, Maggie and I love hitting the gym together. Even if I'm not good at it, she is. We have things eachother wants, really. I want to slim, and she wants to gain. It's like we're reversing roles, so to speak."

"Yea, I had a vague feeling Felix was gonna say something about my weight earlier, but I have to say... you pleasantly surprised me. Good on you, Felix. Good on you." Maggie sarcastically becks and calls to Felix.

"You're welcome, Mag." It went over his head it seemed. Unfortunate.

"So! You and Felix are childhood friends? How exactly did you two meet?" Cera starts eating as Maggie recuperates her seat and Felix begins heating up seconds (or thirds) for them. He brought the necessary water, too.

"What? I'm not telling! That's embarrassing...!" Maggie lightly sarcastically retorted, shrinking into her seat.

"Oh, Mag's parents and my parents were friends through Church. We knew each other since we were tiny, but my family was rich and hers... wasn't. Sorry, Mag." Felix laughed, but not at Maggie.

"Felix!!! I... but that's...!" Maggie was genuinely flustered it seemed, but not angry.

"Oh, Maggie, too much? I can ask him to stop if you want." Cera turned to Maggie, smiling respectfully at her.

"sh*t, you're right. Sorry Mag, if it's too much I can stop." Felix's tone makes a 180, putting Maggie first.

"No! No. I'm okay, I just... I don't have the guts to do it myself, I mean. You can explain it, I just... don't like the details about myself is all. I'm sure I don't need to explain why." Maggie crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, but was deep down thankful they asked.

"Oh."

"Shoot, okay. Well, anyways... Maggie and I didn't really like hanging out at first, but being put in Space Camp together and being set down the paths for success really made us have each other's interests in mind. It wasn't really until high-school we actually got to know each other, and that's when we dated. Maggie didn't transition at the time, so we knew for sure then and now that we were gay. That said though, our parents took some getting used to it."

"But that's not all that happened. You're forgetting about... that." Maggie tried nudging Felix in the right direction.

"Oh, right. Well... what I mean by 'set up for success' was that, since you know Aster is a low-end town, we don't really have very many opportunities or individuals who go on to be successful. Our parents didn't like that, and went out of their way from birth to make sure we didn't stray off a perfect track. And for a while it worked, but eventually the stress got to us in our own ways. Maggie got extremely jealous and vengeful on her path to the top, and I physically harmed myself to plead for an ounce of human treatment (which didnt succeed, of course)." Felix didn't emote or move a muscle as he spoke... he was hollow.

"Oh sh*t, I'm sorry to hear about that Felix. I wish I'd have known... no wonder you always seemed distant, I thought you were always too good for everyone, haha!" Cera didn't know better, and tried to lighten the mood. But it was clearly not, as what was mentioned next was anything but light.

"Felix... also tried committing suicide." Maggie looked at Cera pensively. He got the message immediately.

"Oh no. Um... sh*t, I'm sorry, I don't know how to respond to that. Are you... cool with talking about this Felix?" Cera figured Maggie had his interest in mind when she brought it up, but it didn't hurt to ask.

However, in a weird way, Felix responded the opposite. He smiled, even..."No, no hard feelings. I'm not traumatized by it, if anything. In fact, I'm a free man with nobody to hold me down now. I'm glad I didn't give up. And now I have you, Cera! Truly a gift that keeps on giving, Maggie is." Felix starts nervous, but goes to a confident harrumph to cheer himself up.

"Shuddup. I love you, nerd." Maggie turns to Cera and stammers. "P-platonically."

"I feel ya, I feel ya. We both appreciate you, Felix! So, what happened next?" Maggie leans into what Cera says, and gets invested in Felix's storytelling as well.

"I'm sure I don't need to say what happened next. You witnessed it firsthand, I mean. But for Maggie, well, she told me once it was like tunnel vision... She threw her young life away to pursue a path of sports, meaning all the feedback she got was praise or scorn, not actual words of feedback. Maggie told me one day before what she did that she was no longer herself, but Aster itself. It was kinda scary, and I tried to snap her out of it... It was like a patriotism that wormed it's way into her soul. Needless to say, this wasn't healthy for her, so when we were together it was like showing Maggie the silver lining."

"I'm... I'm not proud of any of what I did. Not that, and not what happened to Cera. Not anymore." Maggie stayed strong, and Cera supportively patted her shoulders. Maggie smiled. "I thought I was the hope of Aster... the hero. Anyone that stood me up stood against our chance at success, I thought. Dad would drill it into my head that my worth was my success because we had nothing, and I just couldn't do it. I... I took it out on you as the transfer student like you were a foreign threat, and I was sick at myself because of it ever since."

"Jesus... I'm so sorry, Maggie. I didn't meant to be that kid, I mean it." Cera scoots closer to Maggie, and Maggie breaths sharply.

"I... I am not Aster. I am not defined by my past. And I am not number one. I know this. I'm sorry too, Cera, I was so in my own head... I was so stupid!" Maggie slams her hand on the couch, and Cera put his hand over hers. Maggie sighs.

"Maggie graduated after her grades and effort drastically dropped following what happened. Some teachers even went out of their way to give her a worse grade than normal because of how invested they were in her. It was heartbreaking... but we made it. I was accepted to a university where I got my Pilot's License with my scholarships, and Maggie had to run the long way. It was hard finding a place that accepted her, but after a while I convinced my parents to help her since Maggie's parents refused to acknowledge her. We stopped dating around the time we graduated, and after Maggie moved out she realized she was trans."

"I did almost commit suicide around this time, too. But... Felix stopped me, like I did him. I won't get into the details, for obvious reasons, but... Neither of us would be here if it weren't for each other. That's why I'm choosing to live." Maggie stares longingly at Felix. He smiles back. Cera gets teary-eyed.

"I'm glad both of you are here. Because, truth be told, I thought about it the days before I met you at the gym." Cera looks down, laughing. "Seems like we've all had it rough, huh?"

"What? Oh, Cera...!" Maggie goes and holds Cera's hand, trying to anchor him. She squeezes his hand, and Cera smiles at Maggie sadly.

"And... A-And I also thought about it many times as I kept gaining weight and saw my old life slip away. I hated being treated as the victim, though, and part of me is actually glad I found where I belong thanks to that change, again." Cera leans next to Maggie and kisses her. "You and I belong together. I will never judge you, never. We will always be here for each other and listen. Okay?"

"Okay. Promise." Maggie joins pinkies with Cera. Before long, Felix comes over and puts his pinkie around both of theirs.

---

"So this is where the Magic happens, huh? To think after all that Smash Bros and Mario Kart you'd work up an appetite again. You two are hopeless!" Felix elbows Maggie, and she laughs.

"Hey, it's out treat for dinner! You brought chili, and we bring you the Seraphim Suite! Or... TO the Seraphim Suite. Semantics." Maggie looks off, laughing at herself.

"Quinn is great, Felix, she seems like your type of person! Platonically speaking, like you two would be great pals. I wanna see if I can get her to hang with us here tonight." Cera smiles as they walk in.

And sure enough? There Quinn was, speaking with an Android at the front desk. However, as they walk in, she notices them out of sound alone turns to face them. She flashes a feral, toothy smile and waves at them. "Boy howdy, it's the dynamic duo! And who's this I see? Fresh meat?"

"My name's not 'Fresh Meat,' it's Felix. I'm Maggie's childhood friend." He goes up and holds out a hand. "I take it you're Quinn? Nice to meet you!"

Quinn crosses her arms and laughs. "Cut it with the formalities, kid. We have fun here. Drink in the ambrosia and sunlight, you'll come to find - no shame! Unless you break the rules, that is. You a rulebreaker, Felix?"

Felix's hand is tiny compared to Quinn's, and he gulps as the massive woman shakes more than just his hand. "Y-you could say that. I'm not a badboy, just a bad boy, you feel?"

"We got a place for sinners like you, here. Thankfully, you got a get-outta-jail-free card with these two from any kind of permanent damnation! Lucky ducky..." The massive malamute steps back, crossing her arms.

Felix turns slightly to speak to Maggie, keeping his eyes on Quinn who can clearly see them. "Is... is she being serious?"

"Roll with it and find out. Consider this a hazing ritual." Maggie smiles wryly, and Cera plus Quinn both join in. It seems he's the only one not in the loop.

"Come on back, 'badboy,' we'll see you to a fitting seat with these two. Let's see how much you can handle." Quinn turns to an Android and speaks with them. It's unclear what's being said, but something about a 'manager special' and 'codeword: table S6' is said.

"Table 6? Isn't that the Infernal Island? That's like, a room of its own, isn't it? You sure we can do that?" Maggie realizes, but Quinn turns back in no time.

"Told ya I was gonna treat ya! Little known secret, right there, not exactly info for the likes of normies and casuals here. That, and let's just say your friend here is in for the treat of a lifetime. And for you, Felix, I'll just say that's where our more... naughty services are. Nothing over the top though, and if you need out just say 'Salvation,' got it?" Quinn slugs Felix in the shoulder lightly.

"What?! Are you kidding me? You two didn't say it was this kind of maid café!" Felix looks at then annoyed, but Cera and Maggie give the same look - indifference. It WAS in the red light district, they supposed.

"Hey, we're just as clueless as you are. We've never been invited there, so we don't really know what its about either." Cera expresses the confusion, and Maggie agrees.

"Well, one way to find out I guess!" The three set off for the elusive 'Infernal Island.'

---

The three enter past the beaded curtains to a room quite the opposite of everything they had seen before. Surely more than just a single table was present, but it was a long and stretched room. A stage and catwalk from the center is adorned with two speakers and brimstone pillars that lined the room, lots of fire and demonic imagery here. What's more? In the center of the room was exactly what Quinn warned of - a stripper pole, and two androids in matching incubus and succubus clothing... or lack thereof.

"Take a seat, ladies and gentleman! Don't be shy, welcome to your eternal punishment! One of our lovely helpers will get you started, and our impish helpers will bring in our special underworld eats momentarily." Quinn had the act down pat!

"Holy sh*t, who knew a place like this existed in here. It really IS like... like Table S6 is a code or something! There's so much in here, like a whole other suite! No wonder this is some kind of unspoken secret, this is badass!" Maggie looks at Quinn, who smiles evilly. Clearly she was eating up the imagery, if her edgy dommy self had anything to say about it.

"You could say that. We have helpers just for this suite, that way none of the helpers who just wanna do the maid gig gotta do anything shady. Even then, most of them are androids, but still. And in the event someone pressures them into coming back here? They gotta deal with these hands." Quinn flexes, her muscles bulging and threatening to tear her sleeve's button clean off.

"Wait... you got a guy android here? You guys really do have everything! But why here? I could've done fine with the rest of the place. This is... intense." Felix looks around, taking his seat.

"Truth be told, when they told me they had a guy coming, I knew I had to do all this just to f*ck with you. That said, if you play nice you might end up liking it here! And remember, the word is 'salvation' if any of you don't like it here. The androids know to switch to a different mode when the word is stressed or shouted, so saying it in conversation shouldn't trigger it. I'll gladly escort you back to the Seraphim Suite in that event."

"D-different mode? Does that mean, then... are they going to do what I think they are?" Maggie's face goes red, and Quinn places a stack of monopoly dollars in front of them with a toy gun that shoots them. "No... wait, really?!?"

"Well, we ARE adults, Mag. I guess it only makes sense. Still, wild to think we're actually doing this." Cera looks around nervously. His nerdy side was rearing to come out, as he almost looked like he was drooling just from looking. "Woah... they really know how to design 'em here to look cute. I gotta figure out what makes 'em tick! Thank you so much, Quinn!" Quinn nods in turn, chuckling at the notion of Cera's industrial curiousity.

"You cool with all this, Felix? I didn't know we were doing this either, but if you don't mind and Cera doesn't mind, I don't mind." Maggie looks at Felix concernedly, but he only smiles.

"Nah, I like the subversion of the expectations. And since they got a guy here? I'm all for it, to be honest. And as long as you two are cool with eachother gawking at Androids, I'm cool too. But I can't drink, I gotta work tomorrow morning."

"Understood." Maggie turns to Quinn and gives a thumbs up, and she walks to the exit.

"Have fun you three! I'll be around if you need me, ask one of them if you need me." Quinn waves and leaves, and the three of them wave and say goodbye in near-unison.

"So this is it..." Maggie gulps.

---

"So tell me, big boy, what brings you to a place like this with two ladies such as them? Do they got you under their thumb, begging for forgiveness today?" The boy android, modelled after a single-headed hellhound (or simply bloodhound), was very skimpily dressed and leaning over to speak with the seated Felix. Felix, however, was unfazed.

"Actually, I'm a guy." Cera blurted out. "Common misconception."

"He's right. Though, those two are partners. I'm just along for the ride. I'd joke and say I'm the third wheel, but we make a pretty good tricycle, you feel?" He was making casual conversation with the male stripper, who clearly had his mind set on one goal.

"Oh I feel ya alright, I feel a lot more than just your feelings. But imagine that, a handsome boy here all by your lonesome... you must be helpless, mustn't you? You know, I was damned to be sent here for the sin of hom*osexuality, and I'm feelin' really into that smug pair of lips of yours." The hound leaned over Felix, bracing himself on the table as he hovers ominously close to the him.

"Wooh!!! Get some, Felix!" Maggie gawks, prompting Cera to snicker as the impish maids brought over what looked to be Devil's food cake, a fun spin on the other item they had. And rather than angel-hair pasta? Squid ink spaghetti, blacker than the brimstone pillars around them.

"This stuff looks really good! I've never had squid ink spaghetti before. You think it's any good?" Cera pokes at it, and Maggie rolls her eyes.

"Well you gotta eat it to find out, silly. Don't just poke it, bite it. I'm sure it can't be that bad. I've eaten some pretty weird stuff in my time." Maggie pulls up her own shallow bowl of the stuff and starts twirling with her pitchfork fork.

"Yea, like dick." Felix turns and jokes.

"SHUT UP, FELIX!!!" Maggie shouts, red in the face despite the fact that the androids can't really judge her per se.

The android looks over at them and winks, and Cera squirms as he turns red. He then turns back to Felix and lands a peck on his cheek. He is clearly shocked by this, also going red. "Felix, huh? Cute name. Now that I know you better, I ought to put on a show. Don't take your eyes off me, boy, I feast off your love~"

He proceeds to take the stage, strutting around and performing a dance like one of those singer androids, seductive and fluid as he effortlessly takes the pole and begins posing and spinning off of it. Needless to say, the other tables around here are eating it up, pulling out their monopoly money guns and shooting.

Maggie grabs her own monopoly money gun and starts shooting it. Before long, the money flies towards the stage and lightly showers the hound. The sound of grunge and rock in the background adds an unexpected level of intensity to the spectacle, along with the cheering and jeering. "Wooh, you go! Wooooh!!" Maggie has her fun and Cera golf-claps as Felix stares in awe.

Felix then has the gun handed to him by Maggie, whose mouth was stained black in spots from the ink. "Give it a try! The spaghetti's really good though, just very salty. Ask for a glass of unholy water or something before drinking it."

"Had I not known better I'd guess you were cleaning a car or something with those stains. If you say it's good though, I ought to trust you." Felix grabs a plate with one hand and shoots fake money with the other, though his attention was on grabbing a plate moreso. After bringing it over, he smiles up at the hound who blows a kiss at Felix. He squirms, feeling hot inside.

"I don't think you got my name. My classification is LW-CA-10302, but you can call me Cerberus. For you though, Felix? You can call me Barry - or maybe just Babe."

"G-got it, Bab- I mean... Barry! Got it! Keep up the good work!" He stops the money shower to speak, before continuing as the hound very clearly puts a show on for Felix. He was really cute, too, damn!

"Sounds like someone's got a man-crush, huh Cera?" Maggie elbowed Cera, and Cera giggled uncontrollably. Felix seemed antsy, but from excitement, not anxiety.

However, this didn't prompt itself at all to the Android who approached Maggie and Cera, the girl from earlier. She was a snake, though her get-up clearly meant to portray a sexy Medusa. She sits across the table from Maggie and Cera, her back facing Barry behind her. "How are you two doing? Two fine ladies tonight, all by your lonesome?"

"A-Actually, I'm a guy. My name's Cera. I think Quinn forgot to mention it to you and Barry, sorry about that." Cera was embarrassed, but the girl only smiled through her strong lipstick and mascara, giving him sexy-eyes.

"Is that so? Very well then, my apologies sir. My name is Medusa, or just Media, but you can also call me Ma'am or Mommy, whichever you prefer. You three are getting the luxury treatment today, yea? How unfortunate that youre trapped down here with us today."

"So, are you like, going for something goth? You need more belts and spikes and stuff, the leather and the nets make you look more like a dominatrix." Maggie was spreading her knowhow, judging her as if she totally wasn't attracted to her.

"Heheh, is that so?" She reaches for her lap to reveal a whip, a black leather cap and some shades. "...because I happen to know a thing or two about making even the coldest of hearts turn to stone. If you think you know more than me, you're sorely mistaken, naughty girl." Maggie's eyes went wide. Careful what you wish for, girl...

"So are you and Barry, like, regular service models like the maids out there? Your chassis' seem more lightweight, those kinds usually are reserved for soldier units and delivery units. And, actually... what gen OS do you run on? Is it Halcyon Neo, or Halcyon Year 3000?" Cera leaned forward, stars in his eyes as he simply couldn't stand on just one question.

However, this took a turn when Media stood and cracked her whip on the air. Cera responds with a resounding 'EEP!', while Maggie and Felix both flinch. Admittedly, lots of patrons shot glances as well. "Ever learn to take things slow, boy? I tell you what I want when I want, not the other way around. And if you're a good boy, you'll listen to me. Am I understood?"

"Y-Yes ma'am! No questions, ma'am!" Cera shrinks back, clearly still determined to learn more, but maybe not at this time.

"Good boy, now if you sit back and be good for me, I might just tell you what you want. Understood?" She holds her whip in hand, clearly holding a strong room presence.

"Yes ma'am!" Cera has no spine, and it shows.

"Alright." Media gets up, strutting to the stage in her black elevated pumps, smiling at Cera as she takes Barry's side. Unexpectedly, they both stand and take one another's hands, and an ominous organ track plays. They begin to dance to it together, and the fog and mood lighting sets in for the rest of the people in the suite. It was a spectacle to behold.

"Wow... this is incredible, holy sh*t." Maggie stares in awe, the two of them clearly knowing exactly what the other is going to do, like they practiced 1000 times. It was like they were figure-skaters, but on solid ground. It was otherworldly.

The three of them watched as the performance ended in a teaser, the two of them clearly raring to show off their bodies, but they hold back and the applause comes regardless. This includes all three of them.

The mood lighting turns into normal lighting soon, and the fog dissipates. Barry goes down to Felix and leans on the table, looking at him with a side-eye. "So, how'd I do, loverboy?"

Felix stammers over his words. "I-I... I think I love you." He was completely toneless when he said that, and Cera and Maggie were watching it all.

"Good. That's the desired effect. You'll be so heartbroken when I say I've heard it 1,000 times from boys just like yourself. Many struggled to cope, and some even grew resistant or violent... but they were all the same. I bet you thought we had something special, huh hon~?" Felix went cold, albeit he knew in the back of his mind there was no way the android would agree to something like the notion of love.

"R-right. Nevermind, then. Good show though! You and Media, there... you're natural-born... er, natural-made entertainers! And even if you aren't real, I still want you to know that you did a great job. How's that?"

"What is he doing?!?" Cera whispers to Maggie, who clearly witnessed the robot-human diplomacy that was being attempted.

"Thanks, hon. I know I'm programmed to say all these things, but in a cheeky sorta way, I can respectfully respond to that notion. I know for sure too that I probably won't remember you, but it's people like you that make us feel like we have a use that makes us hold on." Barry's tone shifted, as if easing off of the Cerberus act for a minute.

Cera, however, was too curious to let that last part slide. "Hold on? As in, like... wanting to live? Or, well, something else?" Barry turns to him, and soon Media walks over too, watching from a distance like a bodyguard.

"Hmm... You have an Icarus ID on you, I can sense the chip in the card. You're Cera, yes? We know your kind, picking apart androids and seeing what makes us tick. We're not stupid." Barry's tone took a complete 180, going from cutesy to condescending and intimidating.

"Woah, wait... I..." Cera got flustered, and admittedly Maggie and Felix were taken aback as well.

"Hey, slow down! Cera's not like that, he's just more knowledgeable than most. He's not using that for anything harmful to you guys." Maggie got up, moving besides Cera and looking Barry in the eye.

"You don't think we don't know that? You have any idea how many sad saps walk in on a daily basis and bitch about how much they hate us? That we took everything from you, even though we didn't wanna be made? We were built to be prostitutes. Imagine how you would feel if you were born into that."

"Imagine? Like... think? You're not like Anatoli, but you're not like Androids I'm used to. Seriously, what's up with you?" Cera spoke words that in the wrong context may come off as judgemental. Sure enough, though, Media had enough.

She steps up, walking around the table to Cera's seat with Barry in tow. She spoke as she walked, all the patrons nonthewiser since they were still caught up in processing the theatrics from earlier. "You're the ones we have to blame for being given this life. You keep advancing our tech, yet you retaliate when we know too much. So why not have a little fun with it? Goodness knows you techie types could learn to have some of that."

Felix gets up and walks over to the seat Maggie and Cera as well, standing on the opposite side of Media and Barry. "Hey, it's not a bad-faith thing, guys. I complimented you Barry, so why are you both being so cold? What did we do to you?"

"What did YOU do to US? Don't make us laugh, we have more answers than stars in the sky, AND we can list them digitally faster than you can blink. Don't give us that bullsh*t. We can talk to you how we damn-well please, because they need us and they would never get rid of us. Right, Media?" Media nods, and Barry laughs evilly in the same high-tone voice he used on Felix earlier. The scummy tone was unlike what they were used to, though.

"Seriously, cut it out! Cera? Felix? We're leaving and telling Quinn right away." Maggie sat up, but Media stood in her way.

"Not so fast, bitch. You're dating a scumbag working with Icarus, and they're funding our creation. We're not having it, we're gonna make you learn for looking up to those bastards." With the crack of her whip, the attention of the store is immediately on them. Panic suddenly fills the room, and the lights adjust once again, albeit with an overwhelming red that suffocated the room. The doors audibly lock, and the screaming begins from the patrons.

"What the hell are you doing?! Leave them alone!" Felix gets in the way, but a swift throat chop from Barry sends him reeling to the floor, thankfully not unconscious.

Maggie's fight or flight instincts immediately kick in, and in retaliation she attempts to seize Media's whip, which she easily avoids. "Not so fast, girl. You're not going anywhere until all of you Icarus pigs are dead on the floor!"

Suddenly, however, a saving grace enters.

A repeated metal panging results in Quinn busting through the locked double-doors with the beads. "The hell is going on here?!? sh*t, my eyes...!" Quinn reels for a moment, but a voice grounds her. The patrons flock for the door and begin running.

"Quinn! It's Media and Barry! They've gone Sector 9!!! Help us!!!" Cera is heard screaming as he eventually fumbles and falls from his chair, now crying and cowering under the table. Felix gets to his knees, but just before Barry can kick him down, Quinn delivers a blind right hook into his abdomen, sending him back if not for a moment.

"Hang tight, kids! Mama's got it under control, just get outta here!" Quinn shouts as Media assaults her with her whip, which she tanks via her bare arms with painful winces.

"sh*t, I can't do that!" Maggie turns to Felix, helping him up and turning to Cera as the two Androids face a solo sh*t brickhouse Quinn. "Felix, you've got to get Cera outta here! Get the others in the building in case the other androids are haywire, too!"

"What about you?! You seriously leaving yourself here with these freaks?!?" Felix shouts, Cera crying uncontrollably under the table.

"They're not freaks, Felix, I just... I don't care, me and Quinn will take care of this! Just call The Police and the Android Control Squad ASAP!" She pushes Felix towards Cera, whom he helps begrudgingly.

"Dammit Mag, don't get yourself killed!" He turns to Cera and tries to help him out from under the table by lifting it and flipping it as a barrier, the platterware falling to the ground and breaking. "Get up, we gotta go!"

"I'm not leaving you, Maggie! I can't!" Cera sobbed, but Maggie has to turn and avoid a right hook from Barry instinctively. Cera is pulled back by Felix to avoid collateral damage, and barely dragged with all his strength until Cera has no choice but to leave. "YOU CAN'T MAKE ME DO THIS!!!"

That was the last thing Maggie heard before it was finally two on two. Her blood ran cold, how did it come to this?

And so the fight of Maggie and Quinn's lives began. A true test of strength.

---

Maggie held onto Barry's arm from the punch as his other fist began beating Maggie's horns. She pushes him to the ground and hits him with a chair as he tries to get back up until the chair breaks and bends to his metal form.

"Quinn, these guys are the same models as soldier units, they're deadly! We gotta hold them off until the cops arrive!" Maggie shouted between bashes, but a crack of the whip causes the chair to fall from Maggie's clutches, enabling a recovering spin kick from the grounded Barry.

"Don't talk about me like that. It's your guys' faults for making us this way! We're real, dammit, stop talking about us like we aren't and let us outta this damned place!!" Barry shouts as he gets back up, Maggie on the ground.

"A little late for that now. If you wanted that, you coulda just asked before forcing us to make you scrap metal first! HYAAH!!" Quinn performs a roundhouse kick towards Media, which she instinctively dodges back from into the table Felix flipped.

"You chose this for forcing us and the maids here into a life of servitude. You wouldn't know what its like to be given no other place to go but Heaven and Hell, you're destined for purgatory!" Her back to the table's artificial wall, she grabs her back hands to the table and begins kicking as if she were fist-fighting, Quinn matching her blow for blow. Quinn rears back for a headbutt, and Media uses her arms to flip the table the other way while she was still held on, backflipping and uppercutting Quinn with her foot square in the jaw.

Quinn bit her own tongue from the force of her jaw upward, causing a strong stream of blood to erupt from her mouth. "AARGH!! You sneaky bitch!!! f*ck..." The adrenaline kept Quinn grounded as Media lands on her feet at the other side, grabbing the bottom of the table and throwing it into Quinn back the way it came. Quinn is then knocked onto her back with the whole table on top of her. She's positive this might've broken a rib or two.

"Quinn!!" Maggie, also grounded, rolls forward into Barry as he was oncoming to avoid an overhead slam, turning quick and grabbing a pitchfork fork from the floor to stab him in the back with.

Barry turns around and grabs the fork, bending it. "Nice try, but you're gonna need more where that came from." He laughs, so Maggie answers. Grabbing a nearby cart full of dirty dishes, she begins throwing utensils one by one until she tosses their whole container, splashing Barry with stagnant sanitizer. "Argh! What the...? Dammit!"

Maggie settles on tossing the entire cart, causing the plates to shatter on impact and puncture into Barry as he has no space to dodge. He tosses the cart aside to the ground, shards of ceramic embedded in his epidermis.

Quinn does similar, albeit without the ceramic, flinging the table from her with great effort. Since the table was larger and she wasn't an android, it was harder, but she sends the table on top of Barry just as he got out from another object. Maggie took this chance to try and hold him down with all her might, and Media beelined for her.

Quinn, however, grabs her ankle just barely, and with the free foot Media begins kicking Quinn in the face, surely breaking some teeth. "LET ME GO!! LET. ME. GO!!!!"

"Never." Quinn spits out a tooth at her, nailing her in the eye and sending her reeling.

Just in time, a man or two in massive suits bust in wielding what look to be Tesla cannons. "Reinforcements have arrived. Targets located!" Before long, both beeline it in, clearly having been attacked from other androids rebelling in the building. "Proceed with civilian extraction! Setting cannons to nonlethal."

Hearing this immediately, Maggie gets up and kicks Media in the face from the distraction, further sending her into recalibration. This gives her enough time to grab Quinn and start dragging her, to which she gets up and the two sprint for the door.

A man turns to the two of them. "We have ambulances outside for the civilian crossfire. Reinforcements in the main room will escort you!"

However, just as the message is communicated, Barry tosses the table at the first man and sprinting for Maggie, grabbing onto her leg for life as the two or three men are caught off guard. "I'm not letting you go just yet, hun~! Have a parting gift, courtesy of your friends in hell!"

Barry put his entire body strength into squeezing his fist tight, then tighter, then tighter still... the men couldn't use their cannons due to human contact, so they resort to bludgeoning with their cannons.

Maggie cries out in pain as she feels her leg snap internally, crying so loud that her very vocal chords tear and taste of blood. This syncs with the sound of arc-lightning decimating Media and combusting her, causing an unprecedented blaze to fill the room and spread. Maggie's lungs seize up from the sudden burst of ash and metal dust being decimated, though Quinn isn't in range of it.

"MAGGIE!!" Quinn swiftly and violently kicks Barry in the face, leaving an indent and tearing his epidermis to reveal sterile, white nanoplastic. She sweeps up Maggie as she falls and begins to haul her.

"We got a burner! Call the FD, now!" The men begin blasting Barry, and before long he combusts as well, albeit better predicted than the last, and the two are long gone.

Maggie's vision fades as Quinn tries grounding her, seeing her bloodied mouth try to speak to her. The exhaustion catches up due to lack of endurance training as of late, and the adrenaline no longer keeps her awake, she begins fading.

"Mag! Stay with me Mag! We're almost outta here, stay with me dammit!! I can't lose you, girl." Her voice echoes as she began coughing from the smoke and fire emitted, which was rapidly spreading from the other room. On the way out there were other men and women in those metal suits who helped direct them out. Android after android were being destroyed - all ones Quinn thought she knew well. But was it all malicious on their part? Or just self-defense from the unprecedented panic?

Maggie holds out until they make it out to the night sky. Sure enough, many bystanders and MWGB Squad Cars are around, a crowd being held back and told to stay away. The sirens of a fire truck blare and Maggie faintly sees Felix and Cera out by the ambulances, where other hurt bystanders were.

Quinn collapses too, causing Maggie to fall from her arms and cry in pain from her leg.

"MAGGIE!!" Cera screams, being held back by Felix and an officer. "MAGGIEEEE!!!!!"

Maggie's last sight before falling asleep on the pavement was the sideways view of her boyfriend, screaming and crying as all went black.